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BERGEN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2017
FESTIVITIES
Rufus Wainwright
with guests Anne Sofie von Otter and Brooklyn Rider m
GRIEGHALLEN GRIEGSALEN
DATE / TIME Monday 29 May at 20:00
DURATION 1:20
TICKET Standard : 190 – 550 Under 30 : 150
Festival Card : 30 % discount
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DIALOGUES
Meet Rufus Wainwright
LITTERATUR- HUSET
DATE / TIME Sunday 28 May at 16:00 – 17:00 Read more on page 96
A magnificent voice from an artist who refuses to be labelled .
Vocalist , songwriter , and composer Rufus Wainwright studied opera – for about ten minutes . The story has it he was wearing clogs to his very first lesson .
– The clogs need to go , his music teacher told him , so Rufus took his clogs , left and never returned .
The Canadian-American artist ’ s insistence on being allowed to always be himself is evident in his musical CV . Elton John has named him the best songwriter on the planet , and the extent of his production – from pure pop songs to operas – is somewhat absurd . Among his many studio and live recordings we find the legendary tribute and recreation of Judy Garland ’ s 1961 Carnegie Hall concert and a special Shakespeare album that was released last year . His music is often labelled popera or chamber pop , and the utterly diverse artist is also the musical creator of the opening performance , Shakespeare ’ s sonnets ( see p . 76 ).
Wainwright ’ s warm and rich voice and playful musicality have brought along collaborations with a great number of artists , among them Burt Bacharach , David Byrne , and Robbie Williams . Anne Sofie von Otter and the string quartet Brooklyn Rider will also appear on stage in Grieghallen and perform , among other numbers , a version of Go Leave , written by Wainwright ’ s mother Kate McGarrigle .
Rufus Wainwright vocal , piano , guitar
Anne Sofie von Otter mezzo-soprano
Brooklyn Rider Johnny Gandelsman violin Colin Jacobsen violin Nicholas Cords viola Michael Nicolas cello
Sponsored by DNB
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