Roger Waters was on hand Saturday for the unveiling of a new version of his Pink Floyd masterwork The Wall.
Another Brick in the Wall: L’Opéra (The Opera) had its World Premiere at the Opéra de Montréal (Montreal Opera) in Canada and Rolling Stone reports that its original songwriter was given a standing ovation when it was announced that he was in the house at the start of the show.
Waters songs have mostly been completely re-imagined for the production by another composer, Julien Bilodeau, although the story line of The Wall remains pretty much intact. It’s also been expanded from the double album’s 80-minutes to nearly two hours. At its conclusion, the opera company itself got the evening’s second standing ovation.
Coincidentally, it was an incident at a 1977 Pink Floyd concert in Montreal that provided the spark for Waters to write The Wall. An irritated Waters purportedly spit at a concert-goer who was annoying him and his embarrassment afterwards inspired him to began working on a concept album exploring his own alienation and isolation.