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Esther: Queen of Persia is a epic sung-through full-length musical adaptation of the Book of Esther from the Tanakh (the Bible). Aiming to be faithful to Scripture, this adaptation's book, lyrics, and music are all written with a historical and cultural focus in mind. A runtime of nearly 3 hours (with an interval) allows for a fully immersive experience in the world of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE, the First Persian Empire). Without further ado, allow us to present to you a teaser below of its music. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a minute of music is worth ten thousand:
For those who are not familiar with the story of Esther, it is set in the First Persian Empire, a world power in its time. Haman the Agagite, enemy of the Jews, was given authority second only to King Xerxes. The Jewish diaspora within the empire faced discrimination, giving rise for Haman to create a law to wipe them out. Out of this dire situation, circumstance, chance, or divine provision came to the Jews. Queen Esther was a key figure in this, and so was her uncle Mordecai. Hegai the eunuch too had a part to play. Experience the story of Esther again in a profound way and escape to the Achaemenid Empire with its sounds and music. Be inspired with the theme of 'everything happens for a reason'; slow and random, but what if everything is happening the way it's supposed to?
The music & lyrics for Act 1 have been completed and we're now working on producing more audio demos and polishing the libretto. We're also producing a short musical film with our very own virtual choir for the Act 1 Finale Fast for Me. For Act 2, the libretto, music, and lyrics are in progress. We're also raising funds so more time and effort can be spent on creating and sharing the musical. Sign up for our newsletter to be informed when new material is ready, and follow us on social media in order to keep up with the latest developments! We welcome opportunities for collaboration, so if you'd like to be one of our singers, musicians, critics, sponsors, or collaborators, feel free to reach out!
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Esther: Queen of Persia is the debut musical project by the band Bible the Musical. It was commenced during the band's founding in 2020 by film composer and musician Benjamin. A big fan of musical theatre and DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt and Joseph: King of Dreams, Benjamin longed to see more cinematic, epic biblical musicals. However, with DreamWorks and other big studios moving to other ventures, he resolved to start a Bible the Musical to create biblical musicals for all audiences. (And perhaps collaborate with a big studio in the future to pick up where DreamWorks left off.)
The story of Esther was chosen as female protagonists had been all the rage, but we sensed there was a need for a different kind of female lead to emerge. Furthermore, the Book of Esther is very special in that it flows naturally as a musical without much re-pacing or re-adapting. The theatrical and dramatic events that take place in the story make it an optimal choice.
Idea of a new musical adaptation of Esther was birthed, along with the idea to continue bringing more biblical stories and scriptures to life in the future
Starting inviting singers from all over the world to participate in the virtual choir, including Filipina artist teresa who contributed Esther's voice, completing the first version of Fast for Me
Benjamin left the busy city to a small island to continue writing and composing the musical with fewer distractions
Took a step away from virtual instruments towards the direction of real musicians playing real instruments as the heart of the musical's sound. Worked with flutist Rajat Prasanna from India, percussionist Mac G from Poland, and trumpeter Nebojsa from Serbia.
Became part of Song Salon, a virtual salon that honors the craft of creating new musicals; a project initiated by Musical Cafe by Play Cafe, based in Berkeley, California
Fast for Me was chosen along with other works to bestreamed as part of the annual fundraiser for Musical Cafe, and more choir members were gathered to make the choir even more epic.
This version of Fast for Me was released on Spotify, eventually finding its place in a well-known Spotify playlist for Broadway Musicals
The love song in Esther got its debut on Song Salon; an acoustic guitar demo with vocals contributed by American soprano musical theater actor Kelly Even.
Worked with qanunist Madiha Nechi to embellish the number Sage Advice
Benjamin quit most jobs again to focus more and found his wife who was in Brazil, so he moved there and started married life
Act 1 got done and moved to the polishing and finalizing process!
Sage Advice was chosen along with other selected songs that were streamed live during the annual fundraiser for Musical Cafe
Worked with Israeli metal guitarist and composer Alexander Thinman to experiment an alternative way of orchestration
Worked with flamenco virtuoso Marcyo Bonefon from Uruguay to experiment with flamenco-style guitar for the musical
Worked with Brazilian keyboardist Carlos Borges to help add orchestration to the love song, Shining like the Sun
Worked again with vocalist Kelly Even once again to release this track
Spotify reported some stats this year for the single Fast for Me: 24,268 streams, 12,536 listeners, 2,079 hours listened, 90 countries reached, 11,320 new listeners, 302 saves, and 1,020 playlist adds
An exclusive early preview EP was released on Bandcamp to enthusiastic fans
Act 1's "MVP" demo got done, a good foundation from which to visualize the whole of Act 1
The need to have a video of Fast for Me called for a search for a new musical theatre actor to help give a face to the song. Amerian actor Taina Hernandez was chosen and worked with us to film an impactful performance of Fast For Me, currently in post-production.
Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media in order to keep up with the latest developments! Right now, we're working on producing demos for Act 1 and completing the libretto for Act 2. We welcome opportunities for collaboration, so if you'd like to be one of our singers, musicians, critics, sponsors, or collaborators, feel free to reach out!
Get the latest updates, songs, and music from Esther: Queen of Persia