Most of Roger Waters' reputation undoubtedly originates from his role in the now-legendary rock act Pink Floyd, though whether that reputation is good or bad is dependant on your opinion of Waters' handling of the band in question. While some think that Waters was possibly the most important member of Floyd, others think that lengthy and glorified albums such as
Animals,
The Wall, and
The Final Cut were the ultimate undoing of the band. Many point to his often-criticized subsequent solo career as proof that Waters' ideas only worked because he had the other members of Floyd backing him up, or simply to state that his ideas don't work at all. However, regardless of Roger Waters' preceding notoriety going into this seemingly decade-long project, to say the man is lacking in the compositional department would be flat-out wrong.
Ça Ira is an opera in three acts, taken on by Waters from originating collaborators Ettiene and Nadine Roda-Gil. Those expecting typical Waters fare will be disappointed; this is not a rock opera, it is an actual classically orchestrated opera based on the Frecnh Revolution, which is of course a collossal departure for Waters and is almost certainly subject to scrutiny from the entire classical field. Many would be quick to state that this is not Waters' work but the Roda-Gils', but it is plain to see that Waters did almost all the work here; the entire opera was composed by him note-for-note on an old Atari computer with Logic and various simplistic recording equipment and MIDI samplers over the course of the last decade. Though he worked in conjunction with Rick Wentworth to transcribe the opera into an actual classical format, Waters oversaw the entire process from day one. He worked with Wentworth on every aspect of the orchestration and personally sessioned with the singers. He has even admirably translated it into English, and has done so in amazing form. Without a doubt, this is first and foremost a work by Waters.
Does it work? Well, to say it works would be an understatement. While it would be ridiculous to pair this opera against a conceptual rock album like
The Wall, this is seemingly Waters' masterpiece. The attention to compositional technique, to the use of melody and to every single aspect of the opera format is done remarkably well by a man who has no classical training. Though it may be said that this is mostly due to Wentworth's presence, without Waters, Wentworth never could have written this himself. Even the opera community, who are often seen as highly critical and snobbish, are less than apt to lambast
Ça Ira. Many have even praised it.
It would also be wise to pay homage to the performers; Bryn Terfel (baritone), Paul Groves (tenor), Ying Huang (soprano), and acclaimed Nigerian musician Ismael Lo are all stunning. Their voices compliment each other perfectly, and they are all so flawless in their individual shwowings that it seems impossible to describe just how good they are in their roles. The orchestra is of course perfect, and the choirs (the London Voices, London Oratory and Italia Conti Children's Choir) are used to great effect in various areas. Everything in the performance department is acheived well.
Those who are appreciative of Waters' songwriting will also be heavily pleased. In my opinion, this is his best lyricism since
The Final Cut (this is supposing Ettiene Roda-Gil did not write the entire thing originally, although Waters did translate it to English in a slightly different format). It is rather surprising to see Waters, who had been so heavy-handed on works like
Animals and
The Wall, working so effortlessly here.
So why not a perfect five? Well, it's not perfect of course. The main complaint with many opera buffs is that there is little exposition and limitless narrative, and I would have to agree with that; the story admittedly drags by the second disc due to the relatively miniscule amount of character interaction. This minor difficulty is enough to knock it down to almost-perfect status, but with that being said, everything else here is worth hearing if you have any interest in classical music or opera. The entire theme of the French Revolution is done with great success, the individual singers' performances are stunning, and the orchestration is top-notch. This is Waters' greatest work yet, and may even be his greatest work ever.
