Wainwright's Opera PRIMA DONNA to Open at Sandler's Wells in April 2010

Following its hugely successful premiere at Manchester International Festival in 2009, acclaimed singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright's debut opera, Prima Donna embarks on an international tour with a new production, making its London premiere in April 2010. Performing at Sadler's Wells from April 12th to the 17th, 2010.

Tickets for the production are on sale beginning December 14th via the website www.sadlerswells.com.

Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation, carving out his own singular sound in the worlds of rock, opera, theatre, dance and film. A Grammy nominee, he has released a series of acclaimed albums. Prima Donna is his first opera, and has been variously described as "a love song to opera, soaked in the perennial operatic themes of loss, betrayal, delusion and nostalgia, and saturated in the musical styles of opera's golden age." (The Times), and "the kind of work to take the opera world by storm and which may turn opera-writing on its head" (Opera Now).

Sadler's Wells Artistic Director, Alistair Spalding comments "Sadler's Wells has a long history of presenting and producing new opera, and I'm delighted to have this opportunity to present Rufus Wainwright's debut work. He has a deep love of opera, but is also new to writing for the form, which is an exciting combination. While Sadler's Wells is best known as the UK's dance house, if it is going to present opera within its programme, this is exactly the kind of work I would want to support."

Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna is inspired by perhaps the best known figure of the art form; the diva. A portrait of a fading opera singer, Régine Saint Laurent, the action is set on Bastille Day in 1970's Paris. Once the world's most revered operatic soprano, Saint Laurent is preparing for her return to the stage after six years of silence. But in doing so, she is forced to confront the ghosts of her past.

Romantic, soaring melodies by Wainwright combine with a tour de force performance by celebraTEd Scottish soprano, Janis Kelly, who reprises the role of Régine Saint Laurent for the international performances in London and at the Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity. Praise for Kelly at the premiere in July 2009 included; "In the Callas-like title role Janis Kelly gives the performance of her life", (Financial Times). Known as one of the great singing actresses of her generation, Glasgow born Janis Kelly is regularly seen at Covent Garden, English National Opera, and beyond and makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York next season.

For the international tour, there is a new production directed by acclaimed British director Tim Albery, whose most recent works include The Flying Dutchman at the Royal Opera House, and Boris Godunov for ENO. Based in Toronto, Albery has collaborated on a number of productions with celebrated British designer Antony McDonald, who returns for the tour. Sung in French with surtitles, the libretto is co-written by Rufus Wainwright and Bernadette Colomine.

Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna is commissioned by Sadler's Wells, Manchester International Festival, Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity and Melbourne International
Arts Festival.

Affectionately referred to by Elton John as "the greatest songwriter on the planet", Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation. He has released seven albums and two DVDs to date. His albums include; the Grammy nominated Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall, capturing his legendary Judy Garland tribute performance at the London Palladium in 2007, and Want Two (2005) and Release the Stars (2008) for which he was nominated Songwriter of the Year. His 1999 and 2002 albums; Rufus Wainwright and Poses each won Juno Awards for Best Alternative Album.

Wainwright composed the original music for choreographer Stephen Petronio's work BLOOM which has toured across the country. He has also composed a musical adaptation of Shakespeare Sonnets with noted Director Robert Wilson at the Berliner Ensemble which premiered in April of 2009 and continues to play to sold out houses.

In addition to his musical pursuits, he has also made his mark onscreen, including acting in Academy Award winning director Deny Arcand's film, L'Âge des Ténèbres (2007), the Merchant Ivory film Heights (2005), and the major blockbuster The Aviator (2004) directed by Martin Scorsese.

Rufus Wainwright's new album is due out in Spring 2010.

Tim Albery directs opera and theatre. Opera includes: Otello (Dallas Opera); The Childrens' Crusade (Luminato Festival, Toronto); The Magic Flute (Santa Fe Opera); Don Giovanni, The Ring, Fidelio and The Midsummer Marriage (Scottish Opera); Don Carlos, Passion (Minnesota Opera); Boris Godunov, War and Peace, Billy Budd, Peter Grimes, Lohengrin, From the House of the Dead (English National Opera); Macbeth, The Midsummer Marriage, The Trojans, Don Carlos, La finta giardiniera, Luisa Miller, Idomeneo, Così fan tutte, One Touch of Venus, Katya Kabanova, Madama Butterfly and The Fortunes of King Croesus (Opera North); A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merry Widow (Metropolitan Opera, New York); The Flying Dutchman, Chérubin (Royal Opera House); The Trojans (Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera); Madama Butterfly (Opera Zuid); Beatrice and Benedict (Santa Fe Opera and De Nederlandse Opera); Simon Boccanegra and Ariadne auf Naxos (Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich); Benvenuto Cellini (Netherlands Opera); La Wally (Bregenz Festival); War and Peace, Rodelinda and Götterdämmerung (Canadian Opera Company). Theatre work includes: Wallenstein and Macbeth (RSC); Berenice (National Theatre); Attempts on her Life (Royal Court Theatre); Mary Stuart (Greenwich Theatre); Nathan the Wise (Soulpepper, Toronto). Future plans include Tannhauser (Royal Opera House) and Aida (Canadian Opera Company).

About Janis Kelly
Janis Kelly studied at the RSAMD in her native Glasgow and at the Royal College of Music. Considered one of our great singing actresses with a wide-ranging repertoire across the fields of opera, operetta and the musical, she is a regular guest with English National Opera, Opera North and Grange Park Opera in repertoire ranging from La Traviata and Der Rosenkavalier to Showboat. Her extensive concert repertoire includes the major oratorios from the baroque, classical, Romantic and 20th century periods.

Recent appearances include Nella Gianni Schicchi at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Pat Nixon Nixon in China in Athens, Mrs Naidoo Satyagraha and Pat Nixon at English National Opera, Magda La Rondine and Lania Skin Deep at Opera North and Queen Clementine Barbebleu and Foreign Princess Rusalka at Grange Park Opera. She appears as Liu Turandot in the Hollywood movie The Life of David Gale. Recordings include Tchaikovsky's Incidental Music to Hamlet (Chandos), Street Scene, A Little Night Music, Showboat and Brigadoon (TER), four award-winning albums for the Inspector Morse television soundtrack, The Maid of the Mountains (Hyperion) and a new solo CD The Moment.

Plans include Madame Jouvenot Adriana Lecouvreur at the Royal Opera House and Pat Nixon at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

For more information, visit www.sandlerswells.com.