Ennio Morricone: Belarus resembles East Germany, it's hard to breathe here

And Minsk Arena looks like a stadium built in Rome for Olympic Games under Benito Mussolini's rule.

The prominent Italian composer, arranger and conductor Ennio Morricone had a performance at Minsk Arena on November 8.

A 34mag.net author accompanied Ennio Morricone in Minsk as an interpreter for almost a week.

They discussed general topics in the dressing room a day before the concert. The composer's wife Maria asked the journalist: “What's wrong here? The air is stifling. Why don't people smile?”

Ennio Morricone noted: “It looks a bit like East Germany. I remember how we arrived there with a concert just after the war. Strict policemen and border guards with double rifles were patrolling the train. It was so wild for us. The air was the same, it was hard to breathe and hard to play music, because music needs inner freedom in the heart of a performer.”

Maria began to speak about the times of Mussolini and compare Minsk Arena with the stadium built in Rome for sporting competitions. “They all like play at soldiers. Soldiers, for their part, must be strong and well-trained,” the woman said.

Ennio Morricone is among the world's most famous modern composers and one of the most prominent film composers. He wrote music for more than 400 films and series made in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Russia and the US. Morricone says he doesn't remember how many soundtracks he wrote.