Going to a town

To spice up his solo tour, Rufus Wainwright is visiting places he's never been before, including Tel Aviv.

By DAVID BRINN
Rufus Wainwright 88 248 (photo credit: Ellis Parrinder)
Rufus Wainwright 88 248
(photo credit: Ellis Parrinder)
Rufus Wainwright doesn't even bring it up until we're well into the conversation. But only a few hours earlier, the previous night at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theater, he had performed at at a gala 35th anniversary celebration of Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road to raise money for the Elton John Aids Foundation. According to Rolling Stone, his "killer" version of the title song was a highlight of the evening. But the 35-year-old singer/songwriter, whose theatrical pop invokes everything from Elton-like songwriting craft to Tin Pan Alley, folk and cabaret, is more excited talking about the near completion of his first opera. It's called Prima Donna, and it premieres July 1st in England at the Manchester International Festival, Wainwright told The Jerusalem Post in a phone call ahead of his debut in Israel on November 26 at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv. "It's been extremely daunting, but on the other hand it's been such an extreme relief. I've been such a huge opera fan for so many years, and it's been in the back of my mind for so long, you can hear it in my work. This is the final grand idea." Wainwright's illustrious career has been full of grand ideas, ever since his self-titled debut album was released to critical acclaim in 1998. The son of '70s folk icons Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle of the McGarrigle Sisters, Wainwright was raised by his mother in Montreal following his parents' divorce when he was young. By 13, he was already playing piano and touring with his mother, aunt Anna and sister Martha. "Oh yes, I heard a lot of folk music growing up," he said with a laugh. "I went to a lot of folk festivals and hung around with people like Emmylou Harris and Peggy Seeger [Pete's sister] and her family." He had less contact with his father, whose wry, topical folk songs like "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road" and an ode to his baby son, "Rufus is a Tit Man," complemented an acting career featuring a recurring role as Captain Spalding, the singing surgeon on the '70s comedy classic M*A*S*H. "I don't remember being on the set of the show, but I might have been as a baby. I do know that my dad was on the episode when the transvestite [Klinger] was dressed as the Statue of Liberty," said Wainwright, who, during his adolescence, came out of the closet as a gay person. Outspoken and candid about his lifestyle, he told interviewers he was raped at age 14, and remained celibate until he was 21. INCORPORATING THOSE dramatic elements into his music, Wainwright began performing in clubs and recording demos as he increasingly found himself attracted to music of classic American performers like Judy Garland and Al Jolson. The hybrid of influences immediately found Wainwright both gay and straight audiences, which have struggled to keep up with his careening musical changes offered from project to project. By the early 2000s, Wainwright was an established cult entity, even endearing himself to a younger generation with his version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" from the film Shrek. But his personal life was falling to pieces. Wainwright became so addicted to crystal meth that he says he went temporarily blind. It was Elton John who eventually convinced him to enter rehab in 2003 and help turn his life around. "Elton's definitely still in my life. He's a good deal more than a great artist, he's a great person. And considering how incredible an artist he is, that's a really big compliment," said Wainwright, who offered that performing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" the previous night had been "fun." Fun was also what Wainwright began having after cleaning up, culminating last year when he released two albums, Release the Stars and Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, a song-by-song recreation of a legendary 1961 show by Judy Garland. Rufus Does Judy came about of its own volition. At the beginning of the Iraq war, I was pretty anti-American. And none of the books I read or movies I went to helped that feeling except for that Judy Garland album. It reminded me of how great America is, and pointed to all the sophistication it can offer. It was my little secret American moment," he said. "One day, I was with a friend in the car listening to it and commented that it would really be amazing to do this live. The spark went off, he told another friend, and the next thing you know, it was happening. I attribute its success to the vanished soul of the good old USA wanting to come back." Release the Stars, produced by Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, and featuring the quasi-hit single "Going to a Town" with its haunting refrain "so tired of America," derived from the same disillusionment with his country. "I had never intended to write that song. I had about 10 spare minutes before dinner, and the next thing you know it was signed, sealed and delivered - I really consider it a message from the consciousness of the world," said Wainwright. "It was written near the end of the Bush era, which has taken its toll on all of us. So I think with the situation like it is, it's hard not to express it, it comes out eventually." The rest of the album isn't so foreboding, however, and Wainwright credited Tennant as providing a sympathetic ear to better tweak the album with. "Neil was there in an adviser capacity, mostly near the end of the process helping with the finishing touches. He would come in and give his honest opinion, which he never fails to do. He's such an erudite, sophisticated... and it was fun to have my music vetted in that manner," said Wainwright. WHILE HIS attention lately has been focused on Prima Donna, Wainwright still goes out on the concert trail, for a practical reason. "I still like to eat in expensive restaurants, so I have to get out and perform. But this time to spice it up a little, I decided to go to places I've never gone to before," he said, explaining his decision to come to Tel Aviv. The concert will be a solo performance, with Wainwright accompanying himself on piano and guitar. "Playing by yourself has its own set of challenges. You really can't fall back into a groove night after night. Every show is its own entity, at least that's the way I try to do it," he said. "And of course, I make a lot more money if I don't have to pay anybody else." Fans should expect a vast overview of Wainwright's eclectic music, and the uninitiated might end up bewildered at the show tunes juxtaposed with tuneful indie piano pop. Just like Wainwright himself. "I don't know what my style is, honestly, I've never been able to pin that down. It's whatever I'm expressing at the moment or what I'm hearing at the moment. I try not to think about it too much."