Watch a clip of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s final performance in the trailer for “Opus

Ryuichi Sakamoto gave his last performance for the new film Opus, and now the first teaser has been released – check it out below.

The pioneering composer died on March 28, aged 71, after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2021 and throat cancer in 2014.

At the end of December last year, the famous composer and founder of the Yellow Magic Orchestra gave his last concert, a live-streamed concert titled “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing the Piano 2022.”

However, another performance, recorded for the Opus concert film, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 5 September.

Now, a clip of the performance can be seen on Deadline.

In a posthumous statement about the project, Sakamoto said: “The project was conceived as a way to record my performances – while I was still able to perform – in a way that is worth preserving for the future. We borrowed studio 509 from the NHK Broadcasting Center to recording, which offers, in my opinion, the best acoustics in Japan”.

He said: “I played every piece at home, which we recorded on an iPhone, to build the general composition of the concert, which will show the progression of time from morning to night. Everything was carefully planned so that the positions of the camera and will change the lighting a lot with each song.

“I went into the shoot a bit nervous, thinking it might be my last chance to share my performance with the whole world like this. We recorded a few songs a day very carefully.”

The legendary singer concluded: “In a way, even though I thought it was my last chance to play, I also felt that I could break new ground. a point in my life.”

“Perhaps because of the stress, I felt completely empty afterwards, and my condition worsened for about a month. However, I am relieved that I was able to record before my death, a performance which I was happy with.”

Earlier this year, Sakamoto’s management shared a playlist composed by the late musician and singer, titled “Funeral.”

They wrote on social media, “We want to share the playlist that Ryuichi had privately compiled to play at his own funeral to accompany his death. He was really into the music until the end.”