Rapper Kanye West unveiled his second opera earlier this month at the Miami Marine Stadium during the last day of Art Basel Miami fair. West will now bring his latest religion-oriented production to the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.
The opera, which is “based on the biblical story of the miraculous events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ,” will be performed on Dec. 22, with tickets already available.
— ye (@kanyewest) December 17, 2019
“Mary” is directed by the rapper’s frequent collaborator and Italian performance artist, Vanessa Beecroft, who also helmed West’s debut opera “Nebuchadnezzar”.
According to Rolling Stone, the nativity play features a blend of West’s own music, gospel standards and traditional opera, with the Sunday Service collective performing alongside professional opera singer.
In a recent sit-down with Vogue, the “Closed on Sunday” vocalist opened up about the inspiration behind his second opera, which was originally entitled “Birth of Jesus”.
He explained how he wanted to tell this biblical story from the sole point of view of Mary, also adding that he turned to opera to make music that is a “beacon of light.”
“God put it all together. I’ll tell you what, when I don’t apply grace, I don’t get the results I’m looking for. Everything must be done with grace. That’s one of the things I pray for — and I need to pray for more,” he noted.
“Mary” arrived on the heels of West’s long-awaited ninth studio album, “Jesus is King”, which was accompanied by an IMAX film of the same name.
In addition to debuting at the top of the Billboard 200, the gospel-influenced full-length topped Billboard’s Christian albums and gospel albums charts, marking West first appearances on both rankings.
Last November, the musician tweeted that he was working on the follow-up to “Jesus is King” with producer extraordinaire Dr. Dre, promising that the album was “coming soon.” RGA
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