![]() ![]() West remained stationed on the front porch of the replica house for the majority of the night, joined by a group of people that-likely for the sake of courting controversy-included shock rocker Marilyn Manson, who has recently been accused of rape and sexual assault by several women. But, with the exception of a few dramatic moments, the night seemed to be another excuse for West to bob his head while showing off the most recent iteration of his album. With more complex and personal trappings than his past two listening events at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, the evening appeared poised to be an emotional homecoming, set to the bass-heavy strains of his latest record that was pumped through stacks of speakers circling the field. When West finally appeared inside Soldier Field shortly before 11pm (about two hours after the advertised start time of 9pm), he exited the front door of the house with two children as his mother's name reverberated through the stadium and images of Donda flashed across the giant screens at either end of the field. It's a loss that West has publicly been grappling with ever since, naming one of his companies (and now, an album) after his late mother ![]() There's an operatic heft to the story behind the house-originally purchased by West's mother Donda in 1981 and later bought by West himself in 2018- and the tragic circumstances of Donda's sudden and untimely passing in 2007 at the age of 58. Crowned with a neon cross and sitting atop what appeared to be a small mountain of dirt, the facsimile was the visual centerpiece of the listening experience, bathed in thick clouds of artificial fog, and surrounded by what appeared to be riot barricades. I was reminded of Twilight: Gods striking field of candles when I arrived at Kanye West's latest Donda listening event at Soldier Field, immediately taking note of the flickering flames (and hooded figures) surrounding the replica of West's childhood South Shore home that has been the subject of numerous aerial photos over the past week. A collaboration between Chicago's own Lyric Opera and the Michigan Opera Theatre, the production was a somewhat bare bones interpretation of Wagner's Götterdämmerung, using minimalistic sets, video projections, a sea of twinkling candles and classic cars to efficiently tell its tragic tale (you can request a link to watch a recording of the opera via the Lyric Opera's website). ![]() Back in April, I attended a dress rehearsal of Twilight: Gods, an adaptation of the final opera in Richard Wagner's Ring cycle that was performed throughout a park garage in Millennium Park to audiences that were seated in their cars. ![]()
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