Kanye West announced that he will officially present an opera titled Nebuchadnezzar at the Hollywood Bowl next Sunday (Nov. 24). Nebuchadnezzar will be directed by Vanessa Beecroft and include music from Sunday Service, Peter Colins & Infinities Song. West shared the golden invitation to the event, designed by Nick Knight, featuring an engraved image of the ancient Babylonian king, via Twitter this past Sunday.
Little is known about the opera’s content other than its title, referring to the real life Biblical character who ruled over the Babylonian empire from c. 605 BC – c. 562 BC., but this will not be Nebuchadnezzar’s first operatic tale. In 1841, Giuseppe Verdi created Nabucco (an Italian version of the king’s name), an emotionally charged tale of a complex man whose exile of Jews from their homeland, combined with political foibles, triggers a complete nervous breakdown.
Whether West will recreate the story along those same lines, is unknown for now. The Hollywood Bowl says tickets have gone on sale today, Monday (Nov. 18) at noon and the Nov. 24 show is set to take place at 4 p.m.
