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About this concert
New York, NY – Rufus Wainwright, the esteemed vocalist, songwriter, and composer celebrated
for his innovative artistry, is poised to make his return to Café Carlyle, gracing the stage from
October 15 to 19, 2024. Wainwright will sing Cole Porter and songs from his musical “Opening
Night.”
Wainwright’s fascination with musical theater goes back to his childhood when his dad brought
him to see the original production of Annie on Broadway and henceforth 7-year-old little Rufus
wanted to play the part of Annie. His mother told him there were productions where Annie is
played by a boy to encourage him to practice singing. He has followed her advice to this day
making every live appearance of Wainwright an extraordinary delight for the ears. With
“Opening Night” he has now written his first highly anticipated musical that opened in the West
End in March of this year. Critics raved about his music. The Guardian wrote that Opening Night
“shakes up musical theatre itself.” The Independent says “While Wainwright has always shown a
genius for creating whole sonic and emotional worlds in brief songs, he reaches new heights
here.” And the Daily Mail sighs “Thank God also for Rufus Wainwright's music. It explodes
with the singer-songwriter's gift for doomed glory. A spectacular duet brought to mind the brassy
swagger of All That Jazz.”
Wainwright says: “Opening Night is maybe the most personal work I have composed in a very
long time. The main character Myrtle Gordon played in London so devastatingly brilliantly by
Sheridan Smith is going through a personal and professional crisis as a theater company is
getting ready to open a new play on Broadway. I have spoken publicly before about my drug
addiction that ended in me temporarily going blind. I was going through a very dark period on
tour also in 2020 while on tour and Gena Rowland’s performance in Opening Night was a
beacon of hope that would get me out of bed. When I came home I had an email from Ivo van
Hove in my inbox asking me whether I would write a musical based on Opening Night with him.
I am truly excited to try out this material that I wrote for our wonderful company in London
myself for the first time for the return to this magical and intimate space of Cafe Carlyle. Adding
Cole Porter one of the all-time Greats on Broadway and in the West End to the program is of
course high risk but during Bobby Short’s 100 th anniversary year I wanted to pay homage to
those two lovers.”
Praised by the New York Times for his “genuine originality,” Rufus Wainwright has established
himself as one of the great male vocalists, songwriters, and composers of his generation. The
New York-born, Montreal-raised singer-songwriter has released ten studio albums to date, three
DVDs, and three live albums including the GRAMMY® nominated Rufus Does Judy at
Carnegie Hall. He has collaborated with artists such as Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Miley Cyrus,
David Byrne, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys, Heart, Carly Rae Jepsen, Robbie
Williams, Jessye Norman, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Sting, and producer Mark Ronson, among
many others. He has written two operas and numerous songs for movies and TV.
His 2020 GRAMMY® nominated studio album of original songs, Unfollow the Rules, finds
Wainwright at the peak of his powers, entering artistic maturity with passion, honesty, and a
new-found fearlessness. In 2023, he embarked on a journey to his family folk roots with his
newly-released, GRAMMY® nominated album Folkocracy featuring reinvented folk duets with
artists like Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, John Legend and Anohni and many more.
He has been working on his first musical of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night for the West End
with Ivo van Hove for a number of years which is set to open at the Gielgud Theater in March
2024. During this time he has also completed a Requiem which will premiere with the Orchestre
Philharmonique de la Radio France in June of 2024. Co-commissioners for the Requiem are the
Master Chorale in Los Angeles, the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, the Helsinki Symphony
Orchestra, the RTE Orchestra in Ireland, the Royal Ballet London and the Netherlands
Philharmonic Orchestra.
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What fans are saying
May 24th 2024
Rufus is always truly amazing, this series of shows " retro- spective" featuring mostly his best loved iconic songs is a special treat. Voice perfect, resounding, piano and guitar superlative. Melodies and lyrics heartfelt and soaring. In this absolutely amazing Groton Hill Music Center venue, with a top-flight piano, Rufus' sound was out if this world. The architecture, sound, lighting , quality of seating, and alternating offset rising rows of seats for optimum viewing, makes Groton one of the best venues I've ever attended, in my 60 years of thousands of shows. A perfect musical experience.
Groton, MA@Groton Hill Music Center
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Rufus Wainwright Biography
Affectionately referred to by Elton John as “the greatest songwriter on the planet” and praised by the New York Times for his “genuine originality,” Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation. He is the son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle and the brother of Martha Wainwright, but Rufus has achieved his success by carving out his own singular sound in the worlds of rock, opera, theater, dance and film.
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