Rufus Wainwright says that his opera Prima Donna was "written and performed during the most dramatic period of my life to date, and considering my life, that's pretty dramatic."
That was 2009, when the singer-songwriter—the son of folk legends Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle—premiered the two-act opera at the Manchester International Festival. The work had its U.S. premiere three years later, but hasn't made it to disc until now.
After crowdfunding the recording, Wainwright is now releasing the album—on storied label Deutsche Grammophon, no less, with a cover featuring the same instantly recognizable yellow medallion that's adorned releases by Karajan and Kleiber.
The opera, written in French, is set in the 1970s and tells the story of an aging soprano inspired by Maria Callas. Reviews of the opera were, to put it mildly, not universally positive: the New York Times called Prima Donna "a tasteful, well-intentioned, ultimately mystifying failure," and the Guardian's Andrew Clements went so far as to say it was almost the worst new opera he'd ever heard.
You can now decide for yourself, with the album's Oct. 2 release in North America; it was released internationally on Sept. 11. Wainwright may also be bringing the music to a concert hall near you: his upcoming tour is a "Symphonic Visual Concert" spotlighting a 60-minute concert version of the album, followed by performances of some of Wainwright's other songs, accompanied by various orchestras.
Undeterred by the lukewarm press, Wainwright is already at work on his next opera: an epic about the Roman Emperor Hadrian's affair with his young lover Antinous.
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