Former “Police” drummer Stewart Copeland is coming to Europe. In July, the 69-year-old will be performing Police hits with classical orchestras in four countries. In between, he dashes to Italy, where his latest opera will be premiered.
Schwerin (dpa / mv) – Stewart Copeland, at the side of Sting once a drummer from Police, loves border crossings. After winning a Grammy in April for best new age album “Divine Tides” with Ricky Kej, the 69-year-old is now bringing his project “Police deranged for Orchestra” to Europe. After ten concerts in the USA so far, the tour starts on July 15th and 16th in Schwerin, where Copeland gives two open-air concerts in a row with the Mecklenburg State Orchestra. Further performances are planned on August 20th, 24th and 28th in Amsterdam, Györ (Hungary) and Stettin (Szczecin, Poland).
Copeland performs the legendary rock band’s hits from “Roxanne” to “Message in a Bottle” on drums, along with a classical orchestra that rotates at each concert venue and a vocal trio. The performances with different orchestras are not a problem, he told the German Press Agency. Two and a half hours of rehearsals with the classical music professionals were usually enough to be prepared for the performance in the evening. “I admire the dedication and seriousness with which classical musicians bring a work to life – be it by Mozart, Brahms or me, little light.” The concerts in the USA have shown that the crossover project works: “They make the hut burn.”
Copeland is also on the road as a composer for classical orchestras. Last year his opera “Electric Saint” about the inventor Nikola Tesla premiered at the German National Theater in Weimar. Hans-Georg Wegner was opera director there. Now Wegner is General Manager of the Mecklenburg State Theater and has invited Copeland to the north. Between the concerts in Schwerin and Amsterdam, Copeland jets off to Italy, where his next opera work will be premiered on July 22nd. The rock opera The Witches Seed tells a story from the time of the Inquisition and premieres at Tones Teatro Natura, a former quarry near Lake Maggiore converted for performances.
Regarding his crossing of genres, Copeland says: “They refresh each other and they refresh me.” He is a happy, grateful person and works from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in his studio in Los Angeles. “I don’t suffer from writer’s block or anything like that.” He also has a rock band (Oysterhead) with which he mainly improvises.
