“Thankfully I wasn’t aware at the time of what was happening,” Wainwright said. “We’re doing ‘Hadrian’ this summer in Spain … They seem to have lives of their own now.”Īs for his life in popular music, Wainwright signed with DreamWorks Records for a self-titled debut in 1998. Singers love singing it, so it seems to have survived and is beginning to flourish,” Wainwright said. It was by no means a critical success, but there’s been seven productions of it all over the world. That passion would eventually lead to him writing two original operas, “Prima Dona” (2009) and “Hadrian,” which premiered in 2018 in Toronto, Canada. That was really for me the beginning of my personal journey into the world of music, specifically with songwriting.” It was very quick, I heard one piece, I was listening to Verdi’s ‘Requiem,’ and, after that two-hour séance, I could only listen to opera. “I plunged into this passion for that type of music. “When I was about 13 years old, I had a major conversion to opera,” Wainwright said. Still, he looks back to one specific moment that changed the entire course of his life. She loved to teach people music in general and to play music with people, so to have her son so eager was a real blessing that she took advantage of.” “My mother very much took on the challenge and really enjoyed that whole process. “From a very early age I expressed a real precocious nature and loved to sing and perform,” Wainwright said. When Wainwright was 3, after his parents divorce, he moved to Montreal, Canada with his mother. More the folk-rock version, because my mom went with my dad in the studio after the hospital and they put me in a guitar case.” “I wasn’t quite born in a truck or anything, but my first ever crib outside of the hospital was a guitar case. “I was a poster child for showbiz lore,” he said. His father, Loudon Wainwright III, was also a famous songwriter, known best for his ironic lyrics and pop-up performances on the ’70s war comedy “M*A*S*H”. His mother, Kate McGarrigle was a songwriter and half of a famous Canadian folk duo with her sister, Anna.
But yes, I miss traveling, I miss seeing my fans and I miss the electricity of a live audience with a live performance, so I am excited to get back out.”īorn in 1973 in Rhinebeck, New York, Wainwright may have been destined for a life in music. “I actually needed the time to focus on songwriting, even practicing piano and working on some musicals and stuff, so I took it as a gift actually. “I have managed to stay busy throughout the entire pandemic,” Wainwright said. Wainwright has used his time away from the road to focus on creativity. It’s his first tour since the pandemic began. “I’ve done little gigs around there, but I’m very excited to get back to our nation’s capital.” “It’s been a while since I’ve played D.C. Now, you can see Rufus Wainwright perform at The Anthem this coming Tuesday. He’s built quite the career since Rolling Stone named him Best New Artist in 1998. WTOP's Jason Fraley previews Rufus Wainwright at The Anthem (Part 1)
Also included is "Ode to Antidote", a studio-quality promotional single used to promote a perfume by Viktor & Rolf, and "Patience is a Virtue", an original song available via digital download on Wal-Mart's website with the purchase of Release the Stars. Original songs Studio recordings įollowing is a list of original songs by Wainwright that have been released on a studio album, EP, soundtrack, compilation album, single, or DVD.