Outrageous songwriter Rufus Wainwright has spoken about his struggle to complete his first opera ‘Prima Donna’.
Rufus Wainwright may come from a line of songwriters, but that could not have prepared him for the rigours of producing an opera. An art form which combines classical music, song and drama the opera is widely regarded as being one of the most difficult undertakings in a composer’s life.
The son of an acclaim songwriter, Rufus Wainwright has often spoken of his difficult relationship with his father. Instead of following in his father’s footsteps Rufus Wainwright has instead stuck firmly to his own path.
Frequently arriving onstage decked out in high heels, Rufus Wainwright has always had a dramatic element to his music. A fan of lush orchestration, the singer recently revealed that he has been a fan of opera for some twenty years.
The songwriter had the idea for ‘Prima Donna’ during in 2007 – 2008 tour, and it refused to leave his mind. Working ceaselessly, Rufus Wainwright is now due to open ‘Prima Donna’ before crowds in Manchester.
“It’s never easy,” he told the BBC World Service about working on the show.
“No matter how trained or how knowledgeable or fit you are, it’s always gonna take every little ounce of your being to do. And there’s no easy way around it. But that’s the point of opera – it’s a full body experience.”
To make matters even more difficult ‘Prima Donna’ is written and performed entirely in French. “It’s about a older opera singer who is deciding whether to continue her career or not,” he said of the show.
Rumours had suggested that the show is loosely based on iconic opera singer Maria Callas. “I borrowed heavily from her legend but it’s in no way about her,” he says. “But she was such a powerful force in opera that there was no way to get around her.”
Rufus Wainwright’s opera ‘Prima Donna’ is due to run between July 10th – 19th at Manchester’s Palace Theatre, as part of the theatre’s International Festival. The opera is then set to travel to London, Toronto and Melbourne.
