English

Reworked version of 1980 rock opera published on CD

A reworked version of a famous 1980 rock opera based on Kurhan, a poem by Belarus' literary great Yanka Kupala, was launched in Minsk on January 5.

The original rock opera was recorded by the Pesnyary folk rock band, with prominent composer Ihar Luchanok writing the music and the band's frontman Uladzimir Mulyavin adapting it.

Thirty years later the rock opera was reworked on the initiative of poet Andrey Skarynkin. New songs have been added and the rock opera is now available on CD.

The project has involved prominent pop musicians, such Anatol Yarmolenka, Valery Dayneka and Ina Afanasyeva.

Uladzislaw Misevich, a Pesnyary band member, expressed certainty that the rock opera could be staged as a musical.

"When I took up the project, I realized that this is a literary masterpiece that in some way goes through spins of history," Mr. Skarynkin said.

"Maybe the events described by Yanka Kupala will repeat one day, maybe they are already repeating - this is what distinguishes each truly talented work." //BelaPAN