From rock to opera

Waters: couldn't read music when he began in rock

The row between Roger Waters and fellow band members from Pink Floyd, is chronicled as one of the longest running feuds in rock music.

It goes back as far as 1983, but fans of Pink Floyd were delighted to see the band reunited for Live8 in the summer.

But as well as being reunited with the old Floyd line up, Waters has turned his creative skills to a new musical project: opera.

On 17 November, Ca Ira premiered in Italy, it's made up of three acts and bass baritone Bryn Terfel takes on three roles.

Roger Waters was Breakfast's guest this morning

Ca Ira is an opera based on the events of the French revolution, and Waters says his inspiration comes from Brahms and Puccini.

The opera - the title means It will Be - is in three acts, sung in English. The newspaper La Repubblica described it as eclectic and derivative, "with more 'songs' than arias", but the Rome daily Il Messaggiero said the opera was a bravura performance.

During his early career Waters' composed the band's music by singing and improvising - he couldn't read music.

Roma sinfonietta performing the preview of Ca Ira

The opera has been a long running project, and now he's learnt to write music.

His first inspiration came in 1989 from some French friends who had written a libretto - it was the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution - the meaning of the opera's title is along the lines of There is Hope.

The staging of the opera includes extensive use of projected images and sound effects.