Rufus Wainwright: Inside his special Hobart show
Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright will perform a solo show in Hobart tonight — one of just two Australian appearances this year.
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IT has been 10 years since Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright last played in Hobart, but he remembers the city well.
“It was really uncool and unhip and just like a lost part of the world,” he tells Preview in his easy, ironic way over the phone.
“Now I hear it’s much different and very popular. I am chuffed to be coming back.”
The New York-born, Montreal-raised artist will perform a solo show at Hobart’s Odeon Theatre tonight in one of just two Australian appearances this month.
The years since Wainwright’s last visit have been busy ones. He released his sixth and seventh studio albums, launched a new version of his first opera, Prima Donna, accompanied by a film featuring Cindy Sherman, and premiered his second opera, Hadrian.
He released Trouble in Paradise, the lead single from his upcoming studio album, last year.
“I think having finished my second opera was a big milestone for me. We’ve also been doing Christmas shows with the family,’’ says Wainwright, who is the son of folk legends Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and the older brother of singer Martha Wainwright.
“Sadly this is the 10th anniversary of our mother Kate’s death and we are doing a lot of shows around her material and it’s very moving and dark. But we are fortunate and blessed to be able to sing her music and reflect on her incredible legacy.”
The Hobart show will see Wainwright play in an intimate setting from his vast catalogue.
“I do a whole selection of various tunes from over the years, including a lot of new songs from my upcoming album,” he says.
“There will also be some political fare since we are in an important election year in the United States that will sadly affect the whole world. I also like to take the temperature of what’s going on that day in that place.”
Wainwright won acclaim early in his career when his 1998 self-titled debut was recognised by Rolling Stone as one of the best albums of the year, and he was named Best New Artist of the Year. He has released seven studio albums, three DVDs, and three live albums.
Musically he has collaborated with artists including Elton John, Burt Bacharach, David Byrne, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys and producer Mark Ronson.
Wainwright became interested in opera as a teenager.
“I studied piano for a long time and went to music school briefly, for about a year in Canada. I didn’t do terribly well academically, but I always maintained my passion for opera, and to this day it continues to dominate my musical sensibilities,” he says.
“I am always referencing opera in one way or another and writing opera. It just wipes everything else out musically for me when I’m in the mode and attached to the piece. It brings me to places where I’m suddenly transported to another world or dimension and I kind of dig that.”
Rufus Wainwright performs at the Odeon Theatre, Hobart, on February 24, from 7.30pm. Tickets are $75-$90, available at oztix.com.au
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