Born in New York and raised in Montréal, he has released eleven studio albums, three DVDs, and six live albums, including the GRAMMY®‑nominated Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, capturing his celebrated Judy Garland tribute first performed at the London Palladium in 2007. His album Release the Stars achieved Gold status in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Wainwright received Juno Awards for Best Alternative Album in 1999 and 2002 for Rufus Wainwright and Poses, respectively, and earned further Juno nominations for Want Two (2005) and Release the Stars (2008). In 2008, he was also nominated as Songwriter of the Year for Release the Stars. He composed the original music for choreographer Stephen Petronio’s work BLOOM, which toured widely.
Throughout his career, Rufus Wainwright has collaborated with major artists including Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Miley Cyrus, David Byrne, Boy George, Carly Rae Jepsen, Joni Mitchell, the Pet Shop Boys, and producer Mark Ronson, among many others. He also collaborated with Robbie Williams on the title track of Swings Both Ways, co‑written with Guy Chambers and performed as a duet.
In addition to his achievements in contemporary popular music, Rufus Wainwright has established a significant presence in the classical and operatic world. His critically acclaimed first opera, Prima Donna, premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009, followed by performances at Sadler’s Wells (London), the Luminato Festival (Toronto), and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
His second opera, Hadrian, was commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company and premiered in Toronto in October 2018, starring Thomas Hampson in the title role and Karita Mattila as Plotina. Hadrian received a nomination for Best World Premiere at the International Opera Awards and was later revived in a new production featuring more than 300 images by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe at the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Peralada Festival in Spain.
Rufus Wainwright has also distinguished himself by performing orchestrated versions of his own songs and works from the classical repertoire with renowned opera singers such as Sondra Radvanovsky, Anna Prohaska, and Angelika Kirchschlager, and with leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orchestre national d’Île‑de‑France, and the orchestras of the Teatro Real and Teatro Colón.
He regularly appears at the world’s major music festivals, including Glastonbury (Pyramid Stage), Coachella, and Roskilde, and has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues, such as the Philharmonie de Paris, Royal Albert Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, L’Olympia in Paris, and the Sydney Opera House. He has toured extensively across North America, Central and South America, Asia, Australia, Russia, the Middle East, and Europe.
In 2020, he released his tenth studio album, Unfollow the Rules, which revisited the musical spirit of Los Angeles that shaped his debut recording. The album received nominations for both a GRAMMY® Award and Juno Awards. That same year, he wrote the song Secret Sister for the documentary Rebel Hearts by Emmy Award‑winning director Pedro Kos, earning the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Song in a Documentary.
In 2023, Wainwright explored his folk roots with the GRAMMY®‑nominated album Folkocracy, featuring re‑imagined duets with artists including Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, and Anohni. He also completed a series of symphonic concerts celebrating the 20th anniversary of his landmark albums Want One and Want Two. This ongoing world tour has included two BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in a single evening with the BBC Concert Orchestra, performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, the Nashville Symphony at AmericanaFest, the Santa Fe Symphony at the Santa Fe Opera, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra at De Doelen.
During this period, he also performed at the Americana Awards, the legendary Bluebird Café, made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, and sold out a three‑night run of A Rufus‑Retro‑Wainwright‑Spective at the Philharmonie de Paris, featuring over 75 songs from his catalog.
His first musical, an adaptation of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night directed by Ivo van Hove, premiered at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End in March 2024. Around the same time, Rufus Wainwright completed his Dream Requiem, which premiered with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in June 2024, featuring Meryl Streep as narrator. The recording was released by Warner Classics in January 2025.
Co‑commissioners of Dream Requiem include the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona), the Helsinki Philharmonic, the RTÉ Orchestra (Ireland), and the Royal Ballet (London). Subsequent performances include the U.S. premiere at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in May 2025, with Jane Fonda as narrator.
