Rufus Wainwright will complete a childhood dream by writing his first full-length opera this year.
The singer/songwriter says he's already well underway with the new project, which has bee commissioned by the Metropolitan opera. Wainwright will be both composer and librettist for the project, which he's quoted by trade magazine Variety as saying was something he'd dreamed of doing as a fresh-faced 14-year-old.
"I've wanted to write an opera since I was about 14 years old. But I couldn't find a story that I could wrap my head around," he said, revealing his inspirations well all in the traditional style of the stage diva.
"The construct of the diva, from Maria Callas to Norma Desmond, and the movie Diva from the '80s. And God darn it, there's a bit of me in that too," he adds, revealing the story will be "a day in the life of an opera singer".
