Ex-Pink Floyd arrives to Kyiv with his grand opera project
On Dec. 16, exPink Floyd band member Roger Waters will finally perform in Kyiv, much to the delight of fans who were disappointed by the cancellation of his performance last July. This past summer, Waters was supposed to perform in Kyiv, but at the last moment the concert was rescheduled and then cancelled altogether. The organizers, Solex Plus Agency, promised to return all the money (tickets were Hr 80 to Hr 2,500), but the story quickly took a scandalous turn. Waters’ management claimed it rejected the offer to perform in Kyiv and never planned to come to Ukraine at all. Nevertheless, the concert was heavily promoted by Solex Plus and numerous fans of Pink Floyd, me among them, spent a lot of time standing in seemingly endless queues in order to get the tickets. However, there are good reasons to believe that this time Waters will arrive after all, even though his show is once again being organized by Solex Plus, because, unlike the previous time, this Kyiv concert is on the touring schedule at the official Roger Waters website.
The upcoming event also has significant differences from the one that was supposed to take place last July. Roger Waters will not give a solo performance, but instead will get on stage with his new, big project, the three-act opera-show “Ca Ira,” with a French libretto by Etienne Roda-Gil and his wife Nadine, and set during the French Revolution. Accordingly, the main characters of the story are the royal couple Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. “Ca Ira” is a French expression which means “It’ll do,” or “Everything will be okay.” However, Waters himself interprets the saying as “There is Hope.” A piece of the “Ca Ira” show was first performed in Malta in 2004, the night the country entered the European Union. A 15-minute excerpt was heard by nearly 80,000 people gathered at the waterfront of Malta’s Grand Harbor. The music was accompanied by a light show by Gert Hoff.
“Ca Ira” has already been performed twice in Rome, each time to a full house. Both shows were praised for their high quality music, vocal performances and sound. The choir, orchestra and soloists were accompanied by a projection screen backdrop, which displayed images (some photographed by Mark Holthusen), that helped illustrate the story.
Another full-scale performance took place on Aug. 25 in Poznan, Poland and was broadcast live throughout the country. The project involved the same number of musicians, as well as more than 200 dancers from the Wielki Theater in Poznan. Waters himself made a silent appearance as the Pope. The stage was decorated with period props (such as horses, carriages and war scenes with soldiers and stunt performers) and full costumes. Over 500 artists were involved, and the production reportedly cost over 2 million euros.
Judging from the description of “Ca Ira,” the show will be a complete departure from the work of Pink Floyd. Still, according to the organizers, Waters’ “rocker” touch will be noticeable in the performance, so it should appeal to both dedicated Pink Floyd fans, as well as lovers of opera and classical music who have never even heard of Pink Floyd.
International Exhibition Centre (15 Brovarskiy prospect), Dec. 16, 7 p.m., Tickets Hr 100 to Hr 1,700
