Further to previous news items regarding Roger Waters' forthcoming opera, Ca Ira, we have some interesting news for you.

Firstly, those of you in or near the New York area need to be aware of an event being held on Monday July 25th, at 6:30pm. The Florence Gould Hall at The Alliance Francaise (East 59th Street) is holding a special evening with Roger, who will play selections from, and talk about, Ca Ira. Tickets can ONLY be obtained in a contest run through www.Q1043.com where you will need to register on their site first.

Roger has also been talking about the project, which is released on September 27th on a double Super Audio CD with accompanying DVD.

"I'm in some state of trepidation because I feel that I'm putting my head on the chopping block," he told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. "It's actually very melodic and it's unashamedly emotional. So, if the intellectuals of the modern opera world are catty about it, so be it. I fully expect some resistance. There will be a lot of, 'Who does he think he is?'"

The idea for the opera came in 1989, around the time of the revolution's bicentennial, when songwriter Etienne Roda-Gil approached Waters with his libretto, illustrated by Roda-Gil's wife, Nadine. "He wanted to know if he could use my old songs," Waters said. "I looked at it and sort of fell in love with it ... after six weeks I had a demo that was over two hours long."

The death of Roda-Gil's wife from leukemia halted work on the project, but Waters and Roda-Gil eventually began working together again. Waters wrote French and English versions. Roda-Gil himself sadly passed away recently.

Roger mentioned that the themes of "Ca Ira" are especially relevant today. "It's not just a piece about the French Revolution, it's about revolution in a much broader sense, and it's about the capacity that human beings have for personal change. The piece is an exultation and an encouragement to those of us who believe the human race can discover its humanity and its capacity for empathy to the point where it may be possible for us at some point to guarantee the basic human rights of the individual [around the world]."

The PA note that, although "Ca Ira" will be performed in concert in Rome in November, Waters' ultimate goal is to have it produced by an opera company. They also note that those hoping for a Pink Floyd project after the group's reunion at the London Live 8 concert will be disappointed.

"The chances of further developing with the Pink Floyd reunion are very slight. The Live 8 reunion couldn't have been better, it was terrific, I was really glad it happened, we got along famously and it was absolutely fine, but Dave [Gilmour] and I do have major musical, philosophical, political and artistic differences," he said with a laugh. "So for us to reconvene would probably not be the most brilliant idea."

As we get more on the project, we will keep you posted.