On this occasion I mention the only musical composition about his life. ‘The Temptation of St. Anthony’ is an opera rooted in the gospel tradition based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert, directed by Robert Wilson with book, libretto and music by Bernice Johnson Reagon and costumes by Geoffrey Holder. The production debuted in June 2003 as part of the Ruhr Triennale festival in Duisburg Germany with Carl Hancock Rux as Saint Anthony, Helga Davis is Helarion, subsequent performances at the Greek Theater in Siracusa, Italy; the Festival di Peralada in Peralada, Spain; the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in Santander, Spain; and Sadler’s Wells in London, Great Britain; the Teatro Piccinni in Bari, Italy; the Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, Netherlands; the Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao and the Teatro Espanol in Madrid, Spain. The opera made its American premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music/ BAM Next Wave Festival in October 2004 and official “world premiere” at the Paris Opera, becoming the first all African American opera to perform on its stage since the inauguration of the Académie Nationale de Musique – Théâtre de l’Opéra in 1875. (Source: Wikipedia)
