Praised by the New York Times for his “genuine originality,” Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists, songwriters, and composers of his generation. The New York-born, Montreal-raised singer-songwriter has released ten studio albums to date, three DVDs, and three live albums including the GRAMMY® nominated Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. He has collaborated with artists such as Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Miley Cyrus, David Byrne, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys, Heart, Carly Rae Jepsen, Robbie Williams, Jessye Norman, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Sting, and producer Mark Ronson, among many others. He has written two operas and numerous songs for movies and TV.

His 2020 GRAMMY® nominated studio album of original songs, Unfollow the Rules, finds Wainwright at the peak of his powers, entering artistic maturity with passion, honesty, and a new-found fearlessness. In 2023, he embarked on a journey to his family folk roots with his newly-released, GRAMMY® nominated album Folkocracy featuring reinvented folk duets with artists like Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, John Legend and Anohni and many more.

He has been working on his first musical of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night for the West End with Ivo van Hove for a number of years which is set to open at the Gielgud Theater in March 2024. During this time he has also completed a Requiem which will premiere with the Orchestre Philharmonique de la Radio France in June of 2024. Co-commissioners for the Requiem are the Master Chorale in Los Angeles, the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra, the RTE Orchestra in Ireland, and the Royal Ballet London.

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Opening the show will be Clare & The Reasons

Clare & the Reasons is the faded, but not forgotten project of Clare and Olivier Manchon. They made 3 studio albums and toured around much of the world with the likes of Van Dyke Parks, My Brightest Diamond, DeVotchKa, and more.

The Guardian wrote “a sassy blast of symphonic jazz-noir.” The Times of London exclaimed “symphonic pop so swoonsome that the authorities could slap a health warning on it.” NPR radioed “…vintage pop and music-hall McCartneyisms.” Paste Magazine said, “It’s music that’s meant to be felt, not just heard.” The New York Times scribed “orchestral luxury and nuance.” 

But why did Clare & the Reasons fade? Because of the ampersand. Clare never wanted the ampersand, but try telling that to a world who loves them. So, after nearly 10 years of mediation, healing and deciding that ampersands are aok, Clare & the Reasons are reuniting, on a case by case basis, in between scoring films in Kingston, NY.