By HANNAH LISCOMB
Contributing Writer
Kanye West Announces First Opera, Nebuchadnezzar – A Kanye West Opera
On Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019, influential rap and hip hop artist Kanye West announced on Twitter that he has composed his first opera titled “Nebuchadnezzar – A Kanye West Opera.” The tweet contained a picture of a gold opera invitation with what Kanye West incorrectly thought was a depiction of Nebuchadnezzar, but is actually a depiction of King Darius I. The opera will be performed at the Hollywood Bowl starting on Nov. 24 and tickets went on sale on Nov. 18. The opera is directed by the avant garde Italian performance artist Vanessa Beecroft and will have music performed by guitarist and singer Peter Collins as well as the musical group Infinities Song (some speculate that this was a misspelling of the name of a vocal group from Indiana that West recently developed an appreciation for called Infinity’s Song).
The premise of the opera remains mostly a mystery, but the title offers a hint as to what viewers can expect. In addition to being a clue for the opera’s premise and themes, the title is also a window into the personal connection West may have to this opera he has composed. Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian king written about in the Book of Daniel who ruled from 605 to 562 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar is historically infamous for having had a mental breakdown that lasted for seven years, which stemmed from his shortcomings as a king, obsession with fame and power, and the exile of Jews from Jerusalem that he carried out. There are many complex psychological themes in the use of Nebuchadnezzar as the opera’s protagonist that some have suggested are tied closely to West’s personal struggles with mental health issues. These mental health issues that West is now very open about seem to be tied intimately to a struggle he experiences to make sense of his own troubled psyche and ego. The ego is a phenomenon that Nebuchadnezzar also struggled with as a king of great power and fame. Perhaps West sees a reflection of himself in Nebuchadnezzar and the creation of this opera is a manifestation of this perception. One can only speculate.
Besides speculating about the opera’s potential themes and how they relate to West on a personal level, the more pressing question seems to be about what the creation and production of “Nebuchadnezzar – A Kanye West Opera” means for the future of opera as an art form. Inevitably, there will be a hue and cry among traditionalist opera enthusiasts who rigidly cling to creative precedent and tradition established by some of the most venerated opera composers of all time – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, George Frideric Handel, etc. Traditionalist opera enthusiasts’ resistance to an opera composed by a musician like West is understandable – this is an opera composed by a rap/hip hop artist featuring modern music and avant garde contemporary dance that certainly doesn’t adhere to traditional operatic standards. In the mind of a traditionalist opera lover, such a production would be unnecessarily pushing the boundaries of what opera is, musically and choreographically speaking. Once the traditional boundaries of what defines opera as a distinct art form have been pushed too far, the question arises – What is opera? On the other hand, there is artistic merit to the growing repertoire of avant garde operas that cannot be poo-pooed so easily due to the undeniable cultural impact they’ve had. Some examples of avant garde opera composers include John Moran, Juliana Snapper, and David T. Little. As an artist with a generally open mind, I can understand and appreciate the point of view of those who embrace Kanye West’s new, innovative addition to opera, and I can also understand and appreciate the point of view of those who resist and resent it as yet another unwelcome violation of traditional precedent in opera – musically, aesthetically, and choreographically. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and it is important to remember that art is one of the few things left in this world that is subjective – no interpretation of it is right or wrong.
