Rufus Wainright mixes opera with Judy

A WHOLE lotta history has been playing out in the time-traveling Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts. For music fans, some of the most momentous moments will be recalled at the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall on Sunday, as Rufus Wainwright relives a most fabled night of show-biz triumph and also shares a personal project that's had a rockier start but is just as dear to his heart.

"This [double bill] is a Philly exclusive, and a rare opportunity to connect with two of the major arteries of my career, without necessarily touching on the pop stuff. I'll certainly be myself up there, though - a bit of a pop in the box," quipped the guy in a recent phone chat from the road.

It's the second half of the night that holds the big appeal for fans of razzle-dazzle American songbook music, as Wainwright (joined by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) recreates a legendary, much beloved Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall concert/recording that he's done just a few times before (in New York, Hollywood, London and Paris) and also dished in concert recording form himself.

"Judy! Judy! Judy!" (as the Garland show was billed on the album jacket) was performed and recorded with a dazzling orchestra before a roaring NYC crowd on April 23, 1961, and then toured the hinterlands - including a shaky, 90-minute delayed-start show at the Cherry Hill Arena. Serving up her big movie hits, like "The Trolley Song" and "Over the Rainbow," and belting blasts of "Chicago" and "San Francisco," Garland's songathon proved a triumphant comeback for the long struggling artist.

Ever since, bits from that fabled night have been echoed in numerous "Legends in Concert" impersonator shows - with Garland usually portrayed by a guy in drag.

No, you won't find him performing in lipstick and heels, but the very out Rufus Wainwright does go for broke in the important ways - with especially passionate reads of songs, like "The Man Who Got Away," and methodical reconstructions of Garland's big-band charts ("the originals were in horrible shape"). He even interjects some of the same quips that Garland tossed out to the crowd.

"This thing started out as a random thought to a friend, then built such a head of steam," he says. Wainwright coyly "can't really explain why" Garland has always been such an icon of the gay community. Personally, he "came to know and love her through my family, hearing that album at home. Judy was actually a friend of my grandfather [a big wheel at Life magazine] and she even baby sat for my dad [Loudon Wainwright III] when the family was living in California. I really got into the album after we invaded Iraq. Like the rest of the country, I came to resent the United States" - and, yes, he's written songs on that theme - "while at the same time I kept listening to the Judy record and thinking it was one thread of hope for how great America can be, a symbol of its potential for glory and glamour and beauty. That's what sparked this project."

The first half of Wainwright's show here will feature selections from his original opera, "Prima Donna," joined by vocal soloists Melody Moore and Kathryn Guthrie. A bit of parallel construction, it tells the story of an aging opera singer likewise considering one last comeback.

This work was originally supposed to debut at the Metropolitan Opera. But after the composer reportedly tangled with the Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, over his insistence in writing the libretto in French, the work was mounted first in London and Manchester, England, Melbourne, Australia, and Toronto before finally making its U.S. debut in February 2012 in a New York City Opera production met with decidedly mixed notices.

"The main character is French and I grew up in Montreal, so I speak fluent French," explained Wainwright. "And as a lifelong opera buff, I've never really thought opera in English works. You'd never say that about an opera in French, Italian or German."

While an album treatment of "Prima Donna" has yet to be produced, Wainwright says, "We're now in the process of hammering out a deal with a very famous and respected orchestra. And there is a documentary movie about it - 'Prima Donna, The Making of Rufus Wainwright's Opera' - which is fantastic, with a lot of beautiful footage, a lot of great stuff with my mother [the late Kate McGarrigle], who was around during the making of the project."