Rufus Wainwright Requests Funds for New Opera, PRIMA DONNA

Opera singer, songwriter and composer, Rufus Wainwright, has released this personal request to his fans to raise funds to record his Bastille Day-set opera Prima Donna, with hopes of a touring concert version to follow.

Dear friends,

We are about to embark on an exciting project which will fulfill a powerful desire of mine - to properly record my first opera, Prima Donna with a fabulous orchestra and release a double CD and vinyl of that recording. I would love for you to be a part of this journey as we move through the process and create a magnificent product.

Prima Donna, was written and performed during the most dramatic period of my life to date, and considering my life, that's pretty dramatic! New arrivals, death, terrible defeat and glorious triumph line the tale of this work both on stage and off, a tale that is still unfolding and that I would both like you to know and even more importantly, be a part of. From the early rocky days with the Metropolitan Opera, the valiant premiere at the Manchester International Festival, sold out shows in London and Toronto and finally the firestorm involvement with the New York City Opera at BAM, the tale of Prima Donna's coming to life is already well deemed for a grand opera legend and seems to be growing still.

This is where you come in, the final great chorus!

It is vitally important to me that Prima Donna be properly recorded and released so that I can tour a concert version of it in the coming year, and I have decided to do this with the help of both PledgeMusic and the incredible BBC Radio Orchestra which in turn requires your generous support. Quality studio opera recordings are extremely expensive and too time consuming to pull off these days, and it seems that a once vibrant recording industry is no longer what it was and new methods are needed to get the music out. Though sad, the upside is that everyone in the field agrees that this is a great time to bring the audience into the wonders of the creative process and the myriad of stages the recording of an opera requires. Exciting rehearsals, deep conversations, strange and colorful characters, not to mention many a silly moment, all of this I'm truly excited to experience with you until that glorious moment when the conductor, myself the composer, the orchestra, the singers and the recording crew turn on the red light and put down for posterity my first magnum opus, Prima Donna.

Supporters that pre-order the album will receive access to exclusive behind the scenes updates. Another part of the campaign is that Pledgers have access to exclusives that include signed CDs, scores, name listings in album liner notes, dinner with the cast at the London Wrap Party, going to an opera of your choice with me, VIP concert access and even a private concert at one of the lucky Pledger's homes.

I'm appealing to you, my loyal and esteemed fans, for help to achieve this dream. Pledge your support here.

For those who don't know, the opera is a two act affair set on the day in the life of a great diva who is deciding whether or not to continue her career. With Paris as a backdrop, the opera both borrows from operatic myth and legend as well as my own very contemporary personal experiences as a singer. The themes of loss, fear, hope and ultimately acceptance are deeply explored in this work by both the soloists and the orchestra, and I'm very proud that for a first venture into the operatic world I love so much, though not a masterpiece perhaps (that will come much later in my life), Prima Donna is a solid and viable offering that both people love performing in and audiences enjoy watching and listening to. It's vitally important we get a quality recording for generations to come.

Thanks for taking the time to consider this unique offer and rest assured that if you decide to come along for the ride, it's gonna be a blast, opera style....which is big.

-Rufus