Rufus Wainwright's RUFUS-RETRO-WAINWRIGHT-SPECTIVE Returns at the Wallis Annenberg Performing Arts Center
There will be three differently themed programs on October 30, November 1 and November 2.
Rufus Wainwright will reimagine and reignite his COVID-19 born digital phenomenon Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective for its United States debut at the Bram Goldsmith Theater at the Wallis Annenberg Performing Arts Center with three differently themed programs on October 30, November 1 and November 2. These programs had their world premiere at the Philharmonie de Paris in October 2023.
Rufus takes to The Wallis stage for the first time with this rarely performed herculean task, singing over 70 different songs over the course of these three concerts in one single epic week. The three night presentation features a different program each evening and will be stripped down accompanied by guitar player Josh Mease and pianist Jacob Mann, focusing on the craft of the songs and Wainwright's unique and gorgeous voice that lets him immerse himself deep into the emotional world of a song and take the audience with him.
Originating from Wainwright’s “Quarantunes,” the Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective journeys through his entire studio catalogue, arranging the songs not chronologically but thematically into three main categories: Songs of Youth and Addiction (Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30pm); Songs of Love and Desire (Friday, November 1 at 7:30pm); and Songs of Contempt and Resistance (Saturday, November 2 at 7:30pm).
Wainwright said, "It is quite daunting to go back through one's own song catalogue from the very beginning of my career to today. Some of these songs I wrote when I was 16 or 17 and have not performed in a very long time. LA is the second place where I will do this series of shows which I am very excited about as it is a homecoming for a lot of them. I wrote a lot of these songs here, I started my career in LA and I live in LA. I won’t be doing these shows in many cities around the world so catch them while you can."
Tickets are available at TheWallis.org.
ACT 1: Songs of Youth and Addiction -- Wainwright debuted his first album at the age of 25. His songwriting goes back more than a decade before that. He has been outspoken about his struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol but ultimately his addiction to life and his art and music has been greater and prevented him from a darker fate. Addiction is an expression of obsession and Wainwright harbors many an obsession that shows up throughout his entire catalogue: with love, with men, with opera, with Hollywood's Golden Period, or with chocolate. It is these obsessions that are fuel for his searching as an artist.
ACT 2: Songs of Love and Desire -- When obsessions lose their edge, the true nature of feelings gets revealed. Obsessions are what drives an artist forward, that makes them leave their homes to find new unchartered territory and ultimately new homes. But the places they are looking for are the safe places from obsessions, the harbors of love and other fulfilling desires. Wainwright's songs over and over again find these moments of happiness, in his love life, his family life as a father, as a son or as a friend. These are great moments of peace, of being aligned with yourself and your world that he expresses in his unique melodies and lyrics.
ACT 3: Songs of Contempt and Resistance -- Any highly original artist is going to find resistance from the outside world against their work and if they want to be successful, will have to put up a fight for their position in the world. He will also fight himself, his doubts and demons. These fights can be political, artistic, or personal. Exuberant as Wainwright is in his song-writing, these feelings fuel some of his most epic songs and lyrics from Old Testament references in Jericho to symphonic climaxes in Go or Go Ahead. But as in all of Wainwright's songs, there is a joy and irony in what he is expressing, a lust for the art of songwriting that lifts these personal struggles into a much higher plain of human experience.
Over the last 20 years Wainwright has collaborated with some of the most acclaimed visual artists of our time. For his Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective he is once again soliciting the support of an extraordinary visual artist. Italian painter and media artist Gioele Amaro is creating art videos that will accompany each of the songs over the three night retrospective.
Wainwright says, “I have always admired Gioele’s art. It is poetic and steeped in cultural references yet it is incredibly of today and almost hyper-contemporary which my songs aren’t necessarily. Yet I see a kinship between my songs and Gioele’s imagery especially the new much more surreal direction that he is taking for our project where the images create a sense of wonder, of story and could be seen as enigmatic metaphors for what the songs could mean to the audience. I am truly excited to perform in front of these videos and feel how the audience reacts to this audio-visual synthesis.
Robert van Leer, The Wallis Executive Director and CEO said, “Rufus Wainwright is making his Wallis debut with these three extraordinary programs, having only previously performed them in Paris. They deliver the depth and breadth of one of the most remarkable artists of American popular song in our intimate concert hall. This exemplifies the experience we are seeking to deliver to audiences at The Wallis.”
Wainwright also performs two New York engagements in Fall, 2024. He returns to Café Carlyle, from October 15 to 19, 2024 to sing a program of Cole Porter and songs from Wainwright’s own West End musical Opening Night. He performs a program around his GRAMMY nominated album Folkocracy at Carnegie Hall on November 29. Here, Wainwright revisits his roots of childhood summers spent at folk festivals and watching his famous family on stage. It’s also the sound of an artist in the present using all he has learned from conquering pop to opera and showtunes.
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