Wednesday, Jul 19, 2017
American-Canadian singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright will perform at Dubai Opera on December 6.
Wainwright, widely celebrated for his contemporary pop and classical music, has released eight studio albums and three live albums over the past 20 years. His self-titled debut was deemed a critical success in the ‘90s.
He later penned his first opera, Primma Donna, about an opera singer who falls in love with a journalist, which opened in Manchester in 2009 (Wainwright has been a self-confessed “opera fanatic from [the age of] 13”). That same year, his album Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall was nominated for a Grammy Award.
“From Carnegie Hall to Covent Garden, Rufus Wainwright has graced… the world’s most famous stages with sell-out shows and sensational performances. I am delighted he’s agreed to add Dubai Opera to that list,” said Jasper Hope, chief executive of Dubai Opera.
Wainwright was born in New York to prolific folk singer Loudon Wainwright III and the late Canadian folk artist Kate McGarrigle. He was raised in Montreal. The 43-year-old has long been open about his life, traumas and struggles with addiction.
Wainwright, who in 2001 released a tribute cover of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, had a meaningful relationship with the late Leonard Cohen, who covered the song as well. He went on to have a baby with Cohen’s daughter, Lorca, in a “parenting partnership.”
Wainwright will go on to premiere his second opera in Toronto in October of 2018.
Tickets to see him in concert in Dubai will go on sale midday on July 20, beginning from Dh295.
Staff Report
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