Singer Rufus Wainwright launched his first ever opera, Prima Donna, at the Manchester Palace Theatre in England Thursday.
Prima is the story of a “faded operatic soprano about to return to the stage after a six year lay-off,” that was initially commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, but was ultimately denied because Wainwright refused to translate the script from French to English.
Says Wainwright:
“When I started writing the opera it was in French and it takes place in Paris. It made sense – I was brought up in Montreal and I can speak French. The music started to reflect the language. But the Met wanted to commission an American work.”
Way to stick to your guns!
poisonivyjones.wordpress.com 