Rufus Wainwrightโs debut opera Prima Donna is to premiere next July in Manchester.
The story of a fading Parisian opera singer and sung in French, Wainwrightโs opera is being produced in partnership with Opera North โ and will be performed five times from July 10.
Manchester International Director Alex Poots comments on Wainwrightโs commission, โRufus Wainwright has an exceptional gift for melody and clearly has a deep affinity with opera. Weโre delighted to be working with him as he moves into this new formโ.
Last yearโs festival saw the world premiere of the Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlettโs stage show collaboration Monkey: Journey To The West.
MIF 2009 will run from July 2 โ 19, with the full programme being announnced in March.
Prima Donna tickets are available from October 10 at www.mif.co.uk.
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