Fire up those furnaces and tidy up your lion’s den: Kanye is moving into the opera stage of his musical career and, like much of his recent output, he is drawing inspiration from the Bible. West posted an invite to Nebuchadnezzar: A Kanye West Opera to Twitter on Sunday. The show will be directed by many-time Kanye collaborator and performance artist Vanessa Beecroft, with music by Yeezy’s Sunday Service collective, Peter Collins, and Infinities Song. For you lucky Angelenos, Nebuchadnezzar premieres at the Hollywood Bowl on November 24. Tickets go on sale Monday.
For those fans who didn’t study the Book of Daniel growing up, Nebuchadnezzar is a king of Babylon who famously threw three Hebrew men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into a fiery furnace, from which God then protected them. Nebuchadnezzar also invaded Jerusalem, had his dreams interpreted by Daniel, and went mad for seven years, among other misadventures proving the power of God. So overall, a lot to work with, opera-wise.
The announcement arrived just hours after Kanye visited famed televangelist Joel Osteen at his Houston, Texas, megachurch and discussed his recent recommitment to Christianity at length. “I know that God’s been calling me for a long time and the devil’s been distracting me for a long time,†West said in part. “Jesus has won the victory. I told you about my arrogance and cockiness already. Now the greatest artist that God has ever created is now working for him.†You can stream Kanye’s musical appearance at Osteen’s Lakewood Church here.
Update, November 24: Watch Kanye’s opera below, streaming on Tidal (subscription only) because in finding God, perhaps, Kanye has also found his friendship with Jay-Z again. Praise be. The show promptly began two hours late, and starred Sheck Wes (of “Mo Bamba†fame) as the titular Nebuchadnezzar with Kanye somewhere narrating from the Book of Daniel and live-tweeting the whole thing.
