Rufus Wainwright Announces New Shakespearean Album

BY Alex HudsonPublished Feb 16, 2010

The last we heard from Rufus Wainwright, the cabaret pop singer had made the leap into opera, composing the French-language Prima Donna, which premiered last summer at the Manchester International Festival.

Well, longtime fans will be pleased to learn that Wainwright has now returned to the traditional pop format, and recently wrapped up recording his sixth studio album. It's called All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, and is due out on March 23 in Canada, April 5 in the UK and April 20 in the U.S.

The phrase All Days Are Nights is a reference to Shakespeare's "Sonnet 43," which also happens to be the title of the sixth track on the album. You can check out the full tracklist below, which includes a song called "Martha," presumably named in tribute to Rufus's folk-singer sister Martha Wainwright.

In April, Rufus will head to the UK for a handful of shows in England and Scotland. There's no word yet on any North American dates, but it's likely a tour will be announced in the coming weeks.

All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu:

1. "Who Are You New York?"
2. "Sad with What I Have"
3. "Martha"
4. "Give Me What I Want and Give It to Me Now!"
5. "True Loves"
6. "Sonnet 43"
7. "Sonnet 20"
8. "Sonnet 10"
9. "The Dream"
10. "What Would I Ever Do with a Rose?"
11. "Les Feux d'artifice t'appellent"
12. "Zebulon"

Tour dates:


4/13 London, UK - Sadler's Wells Theatre

4/15 Glasgow, UK - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

4/16 Edinburgh, UK - Usher Hall

4/17 Sheffield, UK - Sheffield City Hall

4/19 Gateshead, UK - The Sage Gateshead

4/20 Birmingham, UK - Symphony Hall

4/22 Manchester, UK - Apollo

4/23 Bristol, UK - Colston Hall

4/25 Nottingham, UK - The Royal Centre Nottingham

4/26 Oxford, UK - The New Theatre

4/29 Ipswich, UK - Regent Theatre

Latest Coverage