RUFUS WAINWRIGHT Heads to Ridgefield Playhouse

Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation with songs like "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," "April Fools," and his covers of "Hallelujah" and "Across the Universe." Rufus Wainwright returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Tuesday, August 20 at 8pm with his Oh Solo Wainwright Tour. Special guest The Rails will open the show, which is part of Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer Songwriter Series. Media sponsor for this event is WFUV.

The son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright was born in 1973 and spent his childhood in Canada with his mother after his parents' divorce at age 3. He took up piano at 13 and toured with his mother, aunt and sister Mary as part of The McGarrigle Sisters and Family. His song "I'm a Runnin" which he wrote and performed at age 14 in the film Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller earned him a nomination for a Genie Award in 1989 and in 1990 he was nominated for a Juno Award for Most Promising Male Vocalist of The Year. After playing weekly on the Montreal Club circuit, he released his debut album Poses in 1998 and it landed on many critics "Best" lists.

Rufus has released eight studio albums, three DVDs, and three live albums. He has collaborated with artists ranging from Elton John, David Byrne, Robbie Williams, Mark Ronson, Joni Mitchell to Burt Bacharach. His album Rufus Does Judy recorded at Carnegie Hall in 2006 was nominated for a Grammy Award.

His acclaimed first opera, Prima Donna, premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009 and has since been presented in London, Toronto, BAM in New York, Armel Opera Festival in Hungary and Augsburg Theatre in Germany. In 2015, Deutsche Grammophon released a studio recording of the opera recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Rufus celebrated the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with the release of his latest album Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets on Deutsche Grammophon worldwide in Spring 2016. The Canadian Opera Company commissioned Wainwright's second opera, Hadrian, about the Roman Emperor, which premiered in Toronto in the fall of 2018.

For tickets ($67.50 - $250) call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.