Rufus Wainwright: “Shakespeare is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever worked with”

Rhinebeck was born in New York and grew up in Montreal. He is the son of musician Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle.. He would wake up every morning to listen to his mother’s interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the piano, and thus these distinct influences, from opera to French song, pass through the musical. Its style can be described as baroque or room pop. Orchestral pomp and sheet music with one ear on Verdi and the other on the music hall are not the only confessable flaws of an artist who also participated in commissions at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House and embarked on a memorial service. Leonard Cohen transforms into Judy Garland for three nights to re-enact the 1963 Carnegie Hall concert that the actress and singer gave at the ‘Big Apple’. wizard of ozincluding the actress’s songs that usually complete her repertoire.

Last March, Rufus Wainwright announced that he would be releasing a new album. folkocracyIt will hit theaters on June 2, just before his 50th birthday. He describes it as a “return to his musical roots”, moving away from the pop and opera sounds to get closer to his family’s people. Probably only he could have brought together Anohni, Nicole Scherzinger, David Byrne, Chaka Khan, Sheryl Crow and John Legend on the same album.

Lyrical, epic, heartbreaking, serious or sincere, a Rufus Wainwright concert offers one of the most intense experiences a music lover can witness. Elton John said of him: “He is the greatest singer-songwriter on the planet.” And they come in across the spectrum from lullabies to Puccinesque arias, and their performances cannot be classified equally for all or none of the audience.

surrounded by stars folkocracy, cover album. What philosophy guided this new album?

I come from two folk families, the McGarrigles and the Wainwrights, and I grew up with this music. My family took this very seriously, but when I started my career, I chose my own path; used aspects of folk music, but I infused it with many other musical ideas. The song choice is very personal, but there are many songwriters on the album that my family really loves, even married like Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl.

How did you choose your guests? Have you agreed with them about the album’s repertoire?

I just thought of the singers I admire. I’ve played with some of them many times before, like my sisters or Anohni or even Brandi Carlile and Chaka Khan, but it was my first time playing with others like John Legend, Susanna Hoffs and Nicole Scherzinger. As for the set list, I suggested each of them the song that I thought would be perfect for them, and most of them immediately agreed. For example, Nicole Scherzinger was born in Hawaii and speaks Hawaiian, so she was the one to talk to. Kaulana and pua. Brandi thought it had the sharpness and intensity needed for the ballad made popular by the Everly Brothers, and John’s voice was just right to embellish. Go homeby Peggy Seeger.

Burt Bacharach left a hole in you?

Certainly. He considered him the greatest living American composer. I had the pleasure of working with him several times. His songs are absolutely brilliant and I sang some of them recently on a tour in the Netherlands with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Came to a show at McCabe’s guitar shop just before the pandemic.

stop following the rules A lot has happened, hasn’t it? What are the rules you should stop following?

Anything that steals your time. Time becomes more valuable as you get older.

When you read Marguerite Yourcenar’s novel Hadrian’s Memoirs he was fascinated by the emperor’s history. How was your experience creating your second opera? How do you deal with the fact that some critics are skeptical of your operas because he is a pop artist?

Writing an opera is always a very intense experience. You have to surrender to the characters. Moreover, hadrian it was a much larger and more complex opera than its predecessor, Prima Donna; I needed that first experience to write a love story as deep as Hadrian and Antinous in the Roman Empire. About critics… everyone has the right to an opinion, and a critic’s opinion is just as important as anyone else’s. hadrian It has already been presented at Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company, the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Peralada festival, and many more performances are to come. I feel blessed and happy that the opera companies found this work worth producing and that the audience was enthusiastic about the performances. I think there is something deeply touching in the story of Adriano, who at the end of his life realizes that his greatest achievement is to love. I think it should be a message we should all agree on and a success we should all aspire to.

Has writing opera changed you as a pop or folk writer? What does Shakespeare or Verdi have to do with you?

From day one, I saw opera as the secret component of my pop music composition. I fell in love with opera when I first heard it. Lament Verdi was 13 and since then I’ve always channeled opera into my pop songs (melodic sensibilities, drama…). Great Art is timeless, and although these great artists may use a different musical or spoken language than ours, the human condition and emotions they speak of remain for centuries. I find this very inspiring. Shakespeare is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever worked with!

Was Joni Mitchell very decisive in your artistic development, Rufus?

The truth is, growing up, they never let me listen to Joni Mitchell because my mom wasn’t a fan of it; I thought Joni wasn’t pure folk. I think he was a little jealous of her success, too. I came to appreciate her even more when my husband, Jorn, took great care of her and arranged two concerts in Toronto and Los Angeles for her seventy and seventy-fifth birthdays. It was incredible getting to know her and singing with and for her during these shows. Of course, his songs are incredible works of art, but I’m more impressed by his personality. There is something so glorious about his existence.

He admitted that he was influenced by classic Hollywood. What do you have before and don’t have now? What does Judy Garland mean to you?

I think today’s stars sometimes lack basic training like dancing and singing for show. Old Hollywood movies used to tell extraordinary things, and sometimes we need that in our little life. Judy Garland had it all.

What do you think about the glorification of youth in pop culture? It seems to be concentrating on the maximum.

I appreciate youth culture even though I’m not anymore, but it’s good for young people to develop their own language. I like and dislike many things, but the same goes for all kinds of art and culture. I recently joined Miley Cyrus on a song from her new album. FlowersHe did it for a TV show he did, and I really appreciated him as a person and as an artist. Real!

He returned to Spain. He visited us many times, performed in theaters and festivals. What can we expect from the concerts on this tour? Will they go solo with the piano?

I love Spain and the Iberian Peninsula. Culture, food and people. I’m coming alone, I’ll play the piano and guitar. Maybe I’ll try a new material and I want the audience to have a good time, but also travel from high to deep, from laughter to tears.