"Approaching Ali" by D. J. Sparr at Kennedy Center Scott Suchman Approaching Ali From left, Ethan McKelvain, Soloman Howard and David Kravitz in this one-act opera by D. J. Sparr at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. WASHINGTON - Anna Nicole Smith, Richard M. Nixon and Harvey Milk are among the prominent figures chosen as protagonists by opera composers in the late-20th and 21st centuries. Joining them, in "Approaching Ali," which had its premiere on Saturday at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater here, is Muhammad Ali. The opera was commissioned under the auspices of the Washington National Opera's American Opera Initiative, a laudable program to train American composers that began last fall with 20-minute chamber operas. The organization hopes that as the selected composers learn how to write for the voice and develop plot lines, they will progress to writing more substantial works. Francesca Zambello, the company's artistic director, and Michael Heaston, director of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, mentored the composer D. J. Sparr as he wrote "Approaching Ali," which was developed during various workshops. Described as a "family opera in one act," the work - with a libretto by Davis Miller and Mark Campbell - is inspired by Mr. Miller's "Tao of Muhammad Ali," a 1997 memoir about his friendship with the boxing legend. The opera recounts how Mr. Miller, hoping for an autograph, knocks on the door of Mr. Ali's mother's house and is invited in for dinner. He establishes a friendship with the fighter, who helps him overcome various personal problems to become a professional kickboxer and sportswriter. It's ripe dramatic material, with an essential larger-than-life character in Mr. Ali and an apt balance of humor and pathos in the libretto. Echoes of Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten and Carl Orff surface in the eclectic but often unmemorable score, whose lively percussion elements were influenced by the sound of boxing gongs. Over all, the music didn't always serve the story, which would have benefited from more assertive vocal writing and greater harmonic tension. Steven Jarvi conducted a well-paced reading, highlighting colorful touches like the chugging rhythms at the conclusion. Some of the most alluring music was written for the character of Odessa Clay, Mr. Ali's mother, beautifully enacted by Aundi Marie Moore. She spun out the bluesy humming with a honeyed tone, one of several Americana elements of the score. As for whether the work is more a musical than an opera, for Ms. Zambello labeling is unnecessary. "Opera" is derived from the Latin word for work, and she classifies opera, operetta and musicals under the broader heading of "works." Ms. Moore was part of a first-rate cast, a graduate of the company's young artist program, of which the bass Soloman Howard is a member. He wielded his sonorous voice to vivid effect in the title role, his hands trembling from the effects of the Parkinson's disease that afflicts Mr. Ali. As Davis Miller, David Kravitz had the no-doubt strange experience of portraying a living protagonist who was at the performance. A charismatic baritone, Mr. Kravitz offered a vividly etched and satisfying interpretation of the author, who reminisces in the opera about his troubled childhood. Those scenes were cleverly directed by Nicole Watson, with Paul Taylor's attractive, simple sets a vehicle for Mr. Miller's flashbacks to his boyhood self, expressively sung by Ethan McKelvain, a talented boy soprano. There were appealing visual effects - like the silhouette of a man shadow boxing alongside the young Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller was bullied as a child and lost his mother, Sara, who is poignantly rendered here by the mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin. Tim Augustin offered a strong performance as the bereaved Roy Miller, who valiantly tries to help his mournful son. In a genre dominated by four-hour behemoths, it's pleasantly rare to feel that a work is too short, with the somewhat abrupt conclusion here leaving you wanting more.