I think we could all be a bit more elitist. Rufus Wainwright More Quotes by Rufus Wainwright More Quotes From Rufus Wainwright The artist who gave me the most inspiration and direction, especially as a singer - and I absolutely consider myself a singer, 100 percent - is Nina Simone. She's my ultimate pianist-singer-type person. Rufus Wainwright singersartistinspiration Premiering a new opera is probably one of the hardest things in the world to do, and opening nights of any opera are always pretty stressful. Rufus Wainwright operanightworld My greatest experiences in the theatre and the most religious experiences in my life - of which going to the opera is one for me - have been with the Romantic composers' repertoire: it's Wagner, it's Strauss, Verdi, Puccini. That era gets me every time. Rufus Wainwright operatheatrereligious Some people go to Berlin to get more cutting edge; I went and started wearing lederhosen and going to visit baroque palaces. Rufus Wainwright berlincuttingpeople There is this church that I go to a lot in New York. I'm not religious but I love lighting candles and stuff. I find it useful. Rufus Wainwright churchreligiousnew-york Unless I have my aunt or my boyfriend to take care of me, I'm a little pathetic. Rufus Wainwright auntmy-boyfriendcare Opera needs to be a total escape from real life. To relate to what we're going through today is fine and dandy, but it's really about being transported and completely swept away by a romantic notion. Rufus Wainwright operarealneeds You get to a certain age, and you feel the need to reward yourself just for existing. Rufus Wainwright rewardsageneeds Looking back, one of the things I love most about my mom was that she never, ever relented. She stuck to her guns right up until the end. She wasn't abusive, but she was never that thrilled that I was gay. Rufus Wainwright gaygunmom I'm very much a romantic. I'm highly attuned to an older sensibility, which I believe is alive and well. We're not that far ahead of the Romantic Age in society. Rufus Wainwright aliveagebelieve I strive for what you do find in Shakespeare's work - that there is a definite humanity and a definite character behind the writing in the sonnets, and it's very real because it's so deeply personal. I try to aspire to that in what I do. Rufus Wainwright realwritingcharacter To me, songs come of their own volition - and with an open-ended philosophy. Rufus Wainwright volitionsongphilosophy That will to love is very powerful. But it doesn't always win. Rufus Wainwright powerfulwinninglove-is I've been thinking of trying my hand at rap. I've been recording snippets on my BlackBerry. Rufus Wainwright raphandsthinking Certainly in terms of my life - anybody's life - you go through death, childbirth and marriage, glory and defeat, and so on. Rufus Wainwright childbirthdefeatglory I've written songs for Shirley Bassey, Marianne Faithfull, and Linda Thompson. I sort of focus on these wonderful, aging divas. But maybe that's because I think I'm Christina Aguilera. Rufus Wainwright focussongthinking In retrospect, I'm really shocked at how far I put my heart out there on the line with 'Prima Donna'. I seem to have this knack for being able to accomplish that. Rufus Wainwright knacklinesheart Places that have experienced great defeat experience a kind of rebirth, which I think America has to do - unless we want to get more decrepit. I don't think we have to destroy the place totally. Rufus Wainwright wantamericathinking I would love to have a number one hit. The truth is if I don't get one, I'll be fine, but at the same time, the truth is that I'm dying for one, as well. Rufus Wainwright truth-isdyingnumbers One of the main destructive forces within our family has been these runaway egos. I think if you look at any show business family, that struggle exists. Rufus Wainwright egostrugglethinking
