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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
Valerie
April 11th 2024
Great opening act by Claire and the Reasons. Loved Claire's beautiful soft voice.
I loved seeing Rufus in this intimate venue. Particularly beautiful to see and hear his piano skills. The "tolling bells" he created on the piano was particularly powerful in the song he wrote when his Mum was ill. Well worth the trip from Montreal.
Albany, NY@Swyer Theatre @ The Egg
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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.
Rufus has released seven studio albums and three live albums to date, including his acclaimed GRAMMY® nominated Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall! which captured his celebrated Judy Garland tribute performance at the London Palladium in 2007. Rufus has received Juno Awards for Best Alternative Album in 1999 and 2002 for Rufus Wainwright and Poses, respectively, and nominations for his albums Want Two (2005) and Release the Stars (2008). He was nominated for Songwriter of the Year in 2008 for his Release the Stars album.
In May 2012, Rufus released Out Of The Game, his most commercial work to date, a collaboration with mega-producer Mark Ronson. A labor of love for both Wainwright and Ronson, Rufus calls Out of the Game, “the most pop album I’ve ever made,” with Ronson stating: “it’s the best work of my career.” The album debuted Top 25 in retail and has received widespread critical acclaim. Randall Roberts from the Los Angeles Times called Rufus’ “ability to maneuver through complex emotions one of Wainwright’s strengths” and calls Out Of The Game “an essential recording.” Mikael Wood from Entertainment Weekly calls the album “a lush, soul-infused disc…” with People Magazine’s Chuck Arnold proclaiming “the theatrical Wainwright scores an outright winner with more accessible fare.”
Rufus has performed many notable shows with some of the world’s best orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra playing original orchestrated pop songs and pieces from an extensive classical repertoire. Rufus composed Fire Shakespeare Sonnets for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, which made its US debut in November 2010 and its UK premiere in March 2012 with the sixty-piece BBC Symphony Orchestra. He worked with the famed director Robert Wilson on a theatrical adaptation of the Sonnets at the Berliner Ensemble in 20090.
Wainwright’s much acclaimed first opera, titled Prima Donna, premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009. The opera made its London debut at Sadler’s Wells in April 2010, and its North American debut in Toronto at the Luminato Festival in June 2010. Prima Donna made its long-awaited US debut in February 2012 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House. Rufus has been commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company to write his second opera, based on the story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Antinous. The new opera will premiere in Toronto October 2018.
Musically Rufus has collaborated with many artists including, most recently, Robbie Williams, co-writing and dueting on the title track of Robbie’s Swing Both Ways album. Rufus has also worked with Elton John, Paul Simon, Antony Hegarty, David Byrne, Joni Mitchell, Guy Chambers and Boy George among others.
Vibrate: The Best of Rufus Wainwright will be released on March 3, 2014 on Universal records. The new collection’s single-disc and digital edition features 18 standout songs that define one of modern music’s most innovative talents, as well as a brand new recording, “Me and Liza.” Rufus will make his eagerly anticipated live return to tour Europe in March, and he has confirmed U.S. dates in Spring 2014 to support the release of Vibrate.
Read MoreRufus has released seven studio albums and three live albums to date, including his acclaimed GRAMMY® nominated Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall! which captured his celebrated Judy Garland tribute performance at the London Palladium in 2007. Rufus has received Juno Awards for Best Alternative Album in 1999 and 2002 for Rufus Wainwright and Poses, respectively, and nominations for his albums Want Two (2005) and Release the Stars (2008). He was nominated for Songwriter of the Year in 2008 for his Release the Stars album.
In May 2012, Rufus released Out Of The Game, his most commercial work to date, a collaboration with mega-producer Mark Ronson. A labor of love for both Wainwright and Ronson, Rufus calls Out of the Game, “the most pop album I’ve ever made,” with Ronson stating: “it’s the best work of my career.” The album debuted Top 25 in retail and has received widespread critical acclaim. Randall Roberts from the Los Angeles Times called Rufus’ “ability to maneuver through complex emotions one of Wainwright’s strengths” and calls Out Of The Game “an essential recording.” Mikael Wood from Entertainment Weekly calls the album “a lush, soul-infused disc…” with People Magazine’s Chuck Arnold proclaiming “the theatrical Wainwright scores an outright winner with more accessible fare.”
Rufus has performed many notable shows with some of the world’s best orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra playing original orchestrated pop songs and pieces from an extensive classical repertoire. Rufus composed Fire Shakespeare Sonnets for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, which made its US debut in November 2010 and its UK premiere in March 2012 with the sixty-piece BBC Symphony Orchestra. He worked with the famed director Robert Wilson on a theatrical adaptation of the Sonnets at the Berliner Ensemble in 20090.
Wainwright’s much acclaimed first opera, titled Prima Donna, premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009. The opera made its London debut at Sadler’s Wells in April 2010, and its North American debut in Toronto at the Luminato Festival in June 2010. Prima Donna made its long-awaited US debut in February 2012 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House. Rufus has been commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company to write his second opera, based on the story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Antinous. The new opera will premiere in Toronto October 2018.
Musically Rufus has collaborated with many artists including, most recently, Robbie Williams, co-writing and dueting on the title track of Robbie’s Swing Both Ways album. Rufus has also worked with Elton John, Paul Simon, Antony Hegarty, David Byrne, Joni Mitchell, Guy Chambers and Boy George among others.
Vibrate: The Best of Rufus Wainwright will be released on March 3, 2014 on Universal records. The new collection’s single-disc and digital edition features 18 standout songs that define one of modern music’s most innovative talents, as well as a brand new recording, “Me and Liza.” Rufus will make his eagerly anticipated live return to tour Europe in March, and he has confirmed U.S. dates in Spring 2014 to support the release of Vibrate.
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