The rapper let his opera stand on its own, without his stage presence.
Kanye West let his opera stand on its own, without his stage presence.
The 42-year-old rapper debuted his opera, Nebuchadnezzar, on Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl, but served as the show's offstage narrator, and not the star of the show. While West read from the Book of Daniel, an attendee of the opera tells ET that the star of the performance, Sheck Wes, did an impressive job with his physical acting while the choir chanted and sang throughout the performance.
The story of Nebuchadnezzar is he conquered the Hebrew, Cimmerians and Scythians people, and asked Daniel to help him as he was the only one who could interpret his dreams.
During the performance, West could be seen on the far left side, hunched over and narrating, while occasionally directing someone to go onstage.
The production included several props and costumes. At times, some of the choir members wore masks during the show, and during the "Wolves" number, a gold statue was brought out.
Near the end of the performance, smoke filled the stage as choir members walked through the audience raising their arms while West asked that everyone stand up and raise their hands. Some audience members obliged.
Wes, who was clad in purple, was then carried onstage by a group of people and laid down. The show ended with him kneeling on the ground with the choir continuing to hold their arms up. West then walked onstage with other choir members and they all held hands and took a bow.
Several celebrities attended West's opera, including Dev Patel, Rick Fox, Val Kilmer and Brad Pitt.
Pitt attended one of West's Sunday Services earlier this year and told ET that he found the experience "really delightful."
“I think he was doing something really special there,” the 55-year-old actor said. “It's a pure celebration of life and people. It's really delightful. It really is.”
Reporting by Lesley Corral.
RELATED CONTENT:
