Kanye West announces his first opera, Nebuchadnezzar

(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

last updated 19 November 2019

Kanye West is putting himself under an all-new spotlight. The rapper announced his first opera, Nebuchadnezzar, tweeting a picture of a gold foil opera program engraved with the heading "A Kanye West Opera."

The contents of the opera have not been made public but the title provides some insight. Nebuchadnezzar was a real person — a biblical king, in fact. He is featured in the Book of Daniel and regarded as one of the most famous Babylonian kings, ruling for 40 years. This is not the first time his story has been told in the operatic medium. As NPR noted, 1841's Nabucco (the Italian translation for Nebuchadnezzar) was an early work by composer Giuseppe Verdi, and was a passionate retelling of a king gone mad.

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Brielle Diskin is an Associate Editor at The Week Junior. Her writing has appeared in Men's Health, Popsugar, Girls on Tops, Wondermind, and other publications. A reluctant Jersey Girl, Brielle has a degree in journalism from Rutgers University. She lives in Hoboken and loves movies, Nora Ephron, and cooking viral TikTok recipes.

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