Yearly Archives: 2017

Original Words and Music by Roger Waters
Operatic Version Composed by Julien Bilodeau
Concept and Stage Direction by Dominic Champagne

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL-THE OPERA
Will Close the 2018 Summer Festival,
Celebrating Cincinnati Opera’s Return to the
Renovated Cincinnati Music Hall

CINCINNATI, OH–Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, today announced that Cincinnati Opera will present the United States premiere of Another Brick in the Wall-The Opera, based on Roger Waters’s legendary album The Wall, in celebration of the company’s return to Cincinnati Music Hall for its 2018 Summer Festival. The production, scheduled for July 2018, will close Cincinnati Opera’s 98th season, its first to be held at Music Hall following the building’s $135 million revitalization.

With original words and music by Roger Waters, the operatic version of Another Brick in the Wall-The Opera is composed by Julien Bilodeau and brought to life through the concept and stage direction of Dominic Champagne. Another Brick in the Wall-The Opera completely transforms Roger Waters’s original work into a standard operatic form, with eight soloists, 48 chorus members, and a 70-piece orchestra.

“Another Brick in the Wall-The Opera is a genuine opera, not a ‘rock opera’–there’s nary a drum set or electric guitar to be heard,” said Mirageas. “It will sound breathtaking in the renovated Music Hall with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the pit.”

Cincinnati Opera is a co-producer of the opera with Productions Opéra Concept M.P., Inc., led by executive director Pierre Dufour. Another Brick in the Wall-The Opera will receive its world premiere on March 11, 2017 at the Opéra de Montréal in Québec, Canada. The opera has already proven to be tremendously popular. Though seven performances were originally announced, to meet an unprecedented demand for tickets the company has since expanded to a run of ten performances.

Reprising their world premiere performances, both conductor Alain Trudel and baritone Etienne Dupuis, who will create the leading role of the fallen rock star Pink, will return for the Cincinnati Opera production. Set design is by Stéphane Roy, with costumes by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt. The video designer is Johnny Ranger, and the lighting design is by Étienne Boucher.

“There is no question about the melodies; they are pre-existing and famous,” said Mirageas. “The discovery is how those melodies have been transformed into genuine ‘opera speak.’ I am excited that we are contributing to the birth of this new work as a co-producer and that we will present the U.S. premiere in Cincinnati.”

“It is with great pride that we welcome Cincinnati Opera as co-producer and as the first U.S. presenter of this outstanding opera,” said Pierre Dufour, executive director of Productions Opéra Concept M.P. “To create a good opera, you first need a moving story, and that is exactly what we have in the concept album of The Wall. Cincinnati Opera’s audience will be the first to discover a new dimension of this legendary work.”

“Participating in the creation of this world premiere has been a labor of love,” said Opéra de Montréal Artistic Director Michel Beaulac. “How fitting that Cincinnati Opera should celebrate the re-opening of their opera house with this epic work, since Another Brick in the Wall is the cultural cornerstone of Montréal’s 375th Anniversary Celebrations. We are thrilled to see this project, created in Montréal, demonstrate our city’s creativity and talent beyond our borders.”

Single tickets for the U.S. premiere of Another Brick in the Wall-The Opera will be available in a limited engagement presale, with details to be announced at a later date. To receive the latest news and ticket sale information, sign up at www.cincinnatiopera.org/the-wall.

The Creative Team

Roger Waters
Roger Waters co-founded Pink Floyd in the mid-1960s. Under his guidance as lyricist and principal composer, the group made a series of best-selling albums including The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall. Waters conceived The Wall as an album, a show, and a film, and it achieved huge success. In 1985 Waters left Pink Floyd to pursue a solo career. There followed the albums The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Radio K.A.O.S., and Amused to Death. Twelve years later, Waters took to the road with his “In The Flesh Tour,” culminating in the release of a live album and DVD. He briefly reunited with Pink Floyd for an acclaimed performance at the Live 8 concert in London’s Hyde Park in July 2005. That same year saw the completion, CD/DVD release, and premiere of his opera Ça Ira. From 2006-2008 Waters toured the globe with “The Dark Side of the Moon Live.” In late 2009, he began to contemplate a new staging of The Wall. ”The Wall Live” played a total of 219 dates to 41.1 million people worldwide from 2010-2013 and was the most successful tour ever by a solo artist. Waters produced, co-directed, and co-wrote the film Roger Waters The Wall, which was shot during “The Wall Live” tour. The film had its world debut at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Roger Waters The Wall was Waters’s feature film directorial debut and premiered in cinemas worldwide on September 29, 2015, with CD/DVD release of the movie and soundtrack album later that year. In May 2017, Waters will release his first new album in 25 years and opens his “Us + Them” tour of North America and Canada in Kansas City on May 26.

Julien Bilodeau
Julien Bilodeau was born in Québec City in 1974. He graduated from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, then spent five years in France and Germany before returning to Montréal to pursue his career as a composer. Known for his rich, varied, and open aesthetics, his preference for the symphonic repertoire has enabled him to work with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Orchestre de la Francophonie, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Ensemble Itinéraire (Paris), I Musici, and the Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt). He is currently credited with over 30 works.

Dominic Champagne
Writer, stage director, scriptwriter, actor, and Co-founder and Artistic Director of Théâtre Il Va Sans Dire, Dominic Champagne has created over a hundred shows, both staged (L’Odyssée, Don Quichotte, Cabaret Neiges Noires, and La Cité Interdite) and televised (the series Les grands procès and Le Plaisir croît avec l’usage). He also directed the Cirque du Soleil shows LOVE, Varekai, and Zumanity. He has earned many awards and distinctions for his work, and has taught and lectured at the National Theatre School, Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal, Concordia University, Princeton University, and others.

Founded in 1920 and the second oldest opera company in the nation, Cincinnati Opera presents a thrilling season of grand opera every June and July. The company’s repertoire includes beloved classics and contemporary masterworks brought to life by some of the world’s most dynamic performers and creative teams.

Cincinnati Opera’s 2017 Summer Festival runs June 15 through July 23, featuring Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, Robert Xavier Rodríguez’s Frida, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s
The Magic Flute. The season will open with Opera in the Park, a free community concert in Washington Park, on June 11. Cincinnati Opera will also present Missy Mazzoli’s
Song from the Uproar in collaboration with concert:nova. Cincinnati Opera’s 2017 Season Presenting Sponsor is PNC. The 2017 season is also made possible with support from ArtsWave, Ohio Arts Council, Macy’s, The Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, and many generous individuals, corporations, and foundations.