House of Rufus. “Five nights of velvet, glamour and guilt”, five nights of extravaganza and gorgeous music by one of the world’s most exceptional and gifted musical protagonists, the first ever popular solo artist to take up residency in the Royal Opera House in London. Days of eager anticipation and high expectations leading to the visit of Rufus’s house, home of love, nostalgia and musical memories. It’s Tuesday, July the 19th, the second of his five consecutive concerts, Rufus “has already done Judy”, and tonight he is sharing the stage with his exceptionally talented sister, singer and songwriter Martha Wainwright.
Martha emerges from the fading lights as the red curtain lifts. With the first notes she proves that she undisputably owns it. Her vocal ability is something of extraordinary, astonishing. Her voice resonates with powerful expression in communicating emotions only to be transformed into subtle and almost painful falsetto. The auditorium fills with lament at the sound of her voice paying musical tributes to her late mother. The cover of Kate McGarrigle “Tell my sister” immediately brings tears to the eyes. She is amazing in the performance of well known Edith Piaf’s songs, superb in the performance of the sublime “Factory”, a song in which her breathtaking voice is entwined with lines of her best songwriting. Her performance is so powerful, that at the end of the night you leave the auditorium with a feeling nothing short of utter admiration.
After the interval, the red curtain lifts for Rufus’s solo set. He starts with the performance of “The Art Teacher” which unites the expressive piano chords with Rufus’s technically flawless voice evoking myriads of emotions and memories. He continues with “Going to a Town” and “Martha”, a song that represents an imaginative dialog between Rufus and his sister, a song that speaks with sincerity about “the terminate nature of time – we can move forward, but one day our dear ones would leave, and nothing we do can change that fact”.
Shortly after, Martha joins him on the stage and their voices unite in the performance of songs from their family’s musical heritage, mostly Kate McGarrigle’s opus, as well as Ewan MacColl’s “Sweat Thames Flow Slowly” in an arragenment of glorius four-part harmonies which had a breathtaking effect. Also followed Leonard Cohen covers and the famous Elton John and Kiki Dee’s 1976 classic “Don’t go breaking my heart”.
It was an inspiring, extravagant, unique performance that leaves a lot to be remembered. From the solo redentions, to all well-crafted arrangements and honorable tributes to their late mother. However, it was Martha who felt mostly at home, displayed an extraordinary talent, shining in absolute glow, so much that she overshadowed her brother.
