He’s Canada’s answer to Elton John: a piano-playing singer-songwriter with a Baroque-pop style that draws equal inspiration from classical opera and Broadway show tunes. The bohemian son of folk singer Kate McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright gained international fame with his Grammy-nominated tribute to Judy Garland, performed in glittering ruby slippers at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Toronto’s Luminato Festival. Let down your hair for an evening of vamp and camp as this born showman regales the audience with a set-list of his best and most provocative music.

He has collaborated with the likes of Elton John, David Byrne, Boy George, and Joni Mitchell, all the while nimbly blurring the lines between pop, folk, camp, and opera, with a journey into the sonnets of Shakespeare thrown in for good measure.

In this extraordinary performance for Canada Scene, Rufus is joined by the National Arts Centre Orchestra and conductor Jayce Ogren for an evening of his best and most provocative music that will, as always, leave us wanting much more.