RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, Canadian singer, born. The out gay son of folk music luminaries Loudon Wainwright III and the late Kate McGarrigle. In addition to many albums, in 2006, Wainwright reproduced Judy Garland’s famous Judy Live At Carnegie Hall concert, released as a two-disc CD set in December 2007. Discography: Rufus Wainwright [1998]; Poses [2001]; Want One [2003]; Want Two [2004]; Release the Stars [2007]; Rufus Live At Carnegie Hall [2007].

His opera, Prima Donna was composed with a French libretto, co-authored with Bernadette Colomine. It is about “a day in the life of an aging opera singer”, anxiously preparing for her comeback in 1970s Paris, who falls in love with a journalist. It premiered at the Palace Theatre, Manchester on July 10, 2009 during the Manchester International Festival. The U.S. premiere was presented by New York City Opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in February 2012. In March 2014, Wainwright began raising funds via PledgeMusic to record a two-disc recording of the work.