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Last week Kanye West confirmed that he was set to stage a new opera, Mary. His second opera of 2019, after last month's Nebuchadnezzar, was held on the final day of Art Basel in Miami over the weekend and featured Kanye committing to the project by painting himself in silver and donning a matching silver robe.
Mary, which took place on a floating barge at the boat-racing arena Miami Marine Stadium, was made in collaboration with artist Vanessa Beecroft. Pitchfork reports Mary featured new arrangements of older Kanye songs, including “Devil in a New Dress,” “Love Lockdown,” “Power,“ “I Thought About Killing You,” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.” The latter was arranged for a brass section and choir. The metallic silver face paint was reportedly maintained by everyone in the production.
Clearly feeling the festive spirit, Kanye also performed Christmas songs “O Holy Night,” “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” and “Drummer Boy” alongside his choir.
Aside from music, it is reported the cast "reenacted excerpts from the books of Matthew and Luke" while "Kanye read gospel passages aloud, much like he did in Nebuchadnezzar." The production lasted an hour after which the cast caught motorboats back to shore.
