Rufus Wainwright to compose opera

I know little about Rufus Wainwright, but I know enough that the news that he’s to compose an opera isn’t the biggest shock in the world. He’s set to compose an opera for the Metropolitan Opera. So what will it be about? Well, Rufus’ new production will look at a day in the life of an opera singer.

As yet, there aren’t details of when or where the opera is scheduled to hit the stage, but Wainwright told Variety that the commission fulfils an ambition he has had since a child. “I’ve wanted to write an opera since I was about 14 years old,” he said. “But I couldn’t find a story that I could wrap my head around.”
The singer went on to explain that he was inspired by “the construct of the diva, from Maria Callas to Norma Desmond and the (Jean-Jacques Beineix) movie ‘Diva’ from the ’80s”.
He added, “And God darn it, there’s a bit of me in that too.”
Wainwright has previous experience of the stage. In 2006 and 2007 he recreated ‘Judy Garland At Carnegie Hall’, Garland’s famous 1961 concert in the famous New York venue. [via NME]