Watch Rufus Wainwright Revive ‘Poses’ Classic ‘Shadows’ on ‘Seth Meyers’

Rufus Wainwright performed his Poses cut “Shadows” and discussed his forays into opera during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers Monday. The performance found Wainwright deftly leading his band through “Shadows” with his always compelling vocals. “I could be a great star/ Still I’m far from happy,” Wainwright sang, his resonant voice buoyed by rich harmonies from his backing band that droned in thick waves over the song’s brisk groove.

Wainwright is in the middle of his All These Poses tour, which has found him performing material from his 1998 self-titled debut and 2001 follow-up Poses. In October, his second opera Hadrian premiered at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, and during his interview with Meyers, Wainwright spoke about the surprisingly calming nature of writing opera, and his ulterior motives for pursuing the storied form.

“I’m writing operas because I want to be super famous and popular,” Wainwright joked. “I’m really exited to be buying the house next to Lady Gaga from my opera sales. But I enjoy the fact that when I write an opera, I have to be in one place and I don’t have to tour. And I can also tell my daughter, ‘I can’t play with you, I’m writing an opera.'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogFHHXsTISw