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Sony BMG Masterworks/Columbia Records Readies the Release Of Roger Waters' Long-Awaited Opera, 'Ca Ira'
Lavish First Edition DigiPack Includes Full Opera on Two Hybrid SACDs,
Bonus "Making Of 'Ca Ira'" DVD,
& 60-Page Four-Color Booklet Containing Libretto,
Cast Credits, & Original Illustrations
"Ca Ira" In Stores Tuesday, September 27
NEW YORK, May 26 -- Sony BMG Masterworks/Columbia Records is
proud to announce the release of "Ca Ira," Roger Waters long-awaited
"operatic history of the French Revolution," on Tuesday, September 27.
The
lavish first edition of "Ca Ira," an opera in three acts for full
orchestra, soloists and choirs, will include a double SACD DigiPack and
a deluxe 60 page four-color booklet including Roger Waters' lyrics
based on Etienne Roda-Gil's original French libretto, the original
illustrations created by Nadine Roda-Gil, biographies of Waters and the
opera's cast, background and production notes on the opera.
As
a bonus for Roger Waters fans, "Ca Ira" includes a special DVD
documentary chronicling the "making of" the opera. The "Ca Ira" DVD
traces the history of the project, from conception to completion, and
includes revelatory interviews with Waters and the musicians and cast
of "Ca Ira" as well as exclusive in-the-studio footage of the recording
of the opera.
"Ca Ira" is being released in the hybrid SACD
(Super Audio CD) format in Dolby Digital 5.1 SurroundSound. The hybrid
SACD disks are compatible with standard CD players.
Waters,
who co-founded the groundbreaking rock group Pink Floyd in 1966, began
to bridge the worlds of rock and classical music in such pioneering
major works as "The Dark Side Of The Moon" (1973) and "The Wall" (1979)
in which he incorporated elements of operatic form -- theatricality,
coherent narrative, dramatic arcs, thematic music and song cycles -- in
a pop context.
Waters' work on "Ca Ira," his first opera for
full orchestra and voice, began in 1989, during the Bicentennial of the
French Revolution. The well-respected and successful songwriter Etienne
Roda-Gil and his wife, Nadine, had
created an original libretto for an opera, written in French, as part
of the Bicentennial. Entitled "Ca Ira," after a revolutionary song of
the period, the Roda-Gil's original manuscript, copiously and
beautifully illustrated by Nadine, portrayed the events and the spirit
of the French Revolution through a
multitude of perspectives--ranging from Marie Antoinette to the eyes
and ears of the period's revolutionaries and common people--using a
circus as a central theatrical framing device and metaphor.
Introduced
to Etienne Roda-Gil by a mutual friend, Waters was immediately
and deeply impressed by the passion and the power of Etienne's
manuscript and began work on creating a full orchestral score for "Ca
Ira." Work on the project was suspended when Nadine died tragically of
leukemia. Several years passed before Roger and Etienne returned to "Ca
Ira."
In
1997, Roger began writing an English version of the text. "It's not
just a translation," he says. "I've stuck very much to the spirit of
Etienne's original, adding to it somewhat. Although it's rooted in the
history of the revolution, its philosophical slant is, I suppose,
contemporary as well. It's more than just a history of the French
Revolution, it's a piece about the human potential for change."
The
finished version of "Ca Ira" features orchestration and choral
arrangements by Rick Wentworth and Roger Waters, also the album's
producers. Principal characters in the opera are brought to life by the
Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel (the Ringmaster, the Troublemaker,
Louis Capet - the King of France); internationally acclaimed soprano
Ying Huang (Marie Marianne - the Voice of Liberty, Reason and the
Republic, Marie Antoinette - the Queen of France); American tenor Paul
Groves (A Revolutionary Priest, A Military Officer); and Nigerian "one
man orchestra" Ismael Lo (a Revolutionary Slave).
Other parts are sung by Jamie Bower (Honest Bird - the young Revolutionary
Priest) and Helen Russill (Madame Antoine - the young Marie Antoinette).
Before
the rise and fall of the guillotine, before the terror took hold, the
People of France fought for a better world based on the ideals of
liberty, equality and fraternity rather than one ruled by a callous and
outmoded
nobility. It is this story of hope and promise that inspired "Ca Ira."
Set during the optimistic early days of the French Revolution, "Ca Ira
is a work of stunning power and beauty, invoking the passion, madness,
and triumph of faith in a time that forever changed the nature of the
world.
Source: Columbia Records, 26th May 2005
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