Those of us who shied away from the Manchester world premiere of Rufus Wainwright's first opera, Prima Donna, last year are biting our nails about the first London performance at Sadler's Wells Theatre on Monday. Fond as we are of some masterly songs on his albums, we wonder if he's boxing above his weight in indulging his love of opera... and in French, too (OK, he grew up speaking it, but even so, it's pretentious French for English-speaking audiences). This evening, Radio 3's In Tune featured an interview with our Rufus and a preview performance by top-notch soprano Janis Kelly of her stage heroine's final "aria".
Perhaps it's unkind to mock; as Adam Sweeting told us in his interview with Wainwright, the same, consummate prima donna sang it at the funeral of the composer's mother, Kate McGarrigle. Yet as supported by Glassian piano accompaniment, the harping on "feux d'artifice" made me think all too mirthfully of the great soprano-turned-spoofster Anna Russell's parody of the French art song, "Je n'ai pas la plume de ma tante". Hear this classic on YouTube, in the company of a nod towards the Germans, "Schlumpf". With apologies if it ruins your pleasure when you see the show. I'm still going with an open mind. Honestly.
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