Prima Donnas: Deborah Voigt and Rufus Wainwright take on Aspen
Deborah Voigt and Rufus Wainwright will be appearing together at this year’s Aspen Music Festival.
Voigt will make two appearances in collaboration with Wainwright who, according to the press release, has been named “the greatest songwriter on the planet” by Elton John. She will guest with the Grammy-nominated singer at a special event The Best of Rufus Wainwright – “an intimate evening of his personal favorites” – on 24 July. Then on 30 July she will give a recital called The Beautiful Voice during which she’ll sing arias from his first opera which débuted in 2009, Prima Donna, as well as e scenes from Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.
This will be the first time in my career that I will be able to sing the operatic repertoire of a living composer. Not to mention the opportunity to appear in concert with that composer.
says Voigt, adding,
The question is, who will be the bigger prima donna, Rufus Wainwright or Deborah Voigt?
Hmmm. She also quipped that one thing was certain, that she is “sure to have the better gown”… knowing Mr Wainwright, I wouldn’t be too sure!
On the afternoon of 22 July Voight will also give a masterclass, and here she will undoubtedly be the prima donna assoluta!
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
