Prima Donna
, the debut opera from Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus
Wainwright, will be presented July 10 at
the 2009 Manchester International Festival, a biennial
arts festival of original work in Manchester, U.K.
At a press conference
in March at New York's W Hotel Union Square,
Wainwright spoke about the project's genesis before
presenting a brief audio recording of the opera's first
rehearsal. "I always wanted to write one, and I have such
great respect for the medium," said Wainwright, who fell
in love with opera at the age of 14. "I failed out of
music school, but I paid for my education in overpriced opera
tickets."
Prima Donna
, in which Wainwright does not appear, is directed by Daniel
Kramer, conducted by Pierre-André Valade, and designed
by Antony McDonald. Set in 1970 Paris, the French-language
opera stars noted soprano Janis Kelly as Madame Régine
Saint Laurent, an aging opera diva staging a professional
comeback after six years of silence.
"It dawned on me
that there'd never been an opera about an opera
singer," said Wainwright, who was partially inspired by
legendary Greek-American soprano Maria Callas. "I wanted
it to be somewhat relevant and modern, but in the romantic
style of music that I enjoy. The world of opera still
translates very well with that style of music."
Wainwright had
originally been commissioned to write an opera by New
York's Metropolitan Opera, but the partnership dissolved
due to scheduling issues and the fact that Met officials wanted
an English-language opera for more mainstream appeal.
Wainwright, who is French Canadian on his mother's side --
his parents are the folk musicians Loudon Wainwright III and
Kate McGarrigle -- only briefly considered an English
translation. "It ruined the piece," he said. "I
didn't want anything to compromise or commercialize
it."
Insistent that the
parting was amicable, Wainwright has not ruled out future
collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera. "I still go to
the Met all the time," he said. "I actually would
love the opera to come to the Met eventually."
Following the press
conference, the openly gay artist spoke exclusively to
Advocate.com about
Prima Donna
's unpublicized gay subject matter. "The butler,
Monsieur Phillipe, is gay, but he's the villain," said
Wainwright of the character he likens to Max von Mayerling,
Norma Desmond's valet in
Sunset Boulevard
. "Another gay villain, right? He's a bitchy queen.
He's sort of a cross between Liberace and
Dracula."
For tickets and information, log onto
www.mif.co.uk
.
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