Rufus Wainwright & the BBC Philharmonic
Apollo, Manchester
26th September 2025

The Canadian polymath brings the sweeping drama of Want One to life with orchestral backing

Not every artist can justify presenting their records in their entirety – or with an orchestra, for that matter. Rufus Wainwright has no such concerns on either front; his catalogue is replete with albums that both take the listener on a genuine emotional journey, and are imbued with rich instrumentation, a reflection of the Canadian’s long-held fascination with classical music. He is continuing to present his latest choral and orchestral work, Dream Requiem, around the world, and perhaps that foray into the classical world has inspired him to keep revisiting his sprawling, two-part 2003 album, Want, with symphonic backing, having originally debuted this show at the BBC Proms in 2023.

Manchester has always embraced the more outré side of Wainwright’s work; it was here, in 2009, that he held the world premiere of his first opera, Prima Donna. Accordingly, he has chosen to spread Want Symphonic over two nights, presenting Want One, its first half, on night one, with the BBC Philharmonic – based locally at MediaCityUK – providing a dramatic musical backdrop. Lee Mills, a long-time Wainwright collaborator, is on hand to ensure a seamless transition from show to show and orchestra to orchestra, and it’s he who takes the stage first, leading the Philharmonic through a handsome symphony inspired by the melodies of both Want records.

Wainwright is unmistakable on arrival; bright red jacket, huge black shades, rugged beard flecked with grey. He has transformed personally as well as physically in the two decades that have passed since he penned Want – his last traditional record as a singer-songwriter, Unfollow The Rules, is full of wry reflections on middle age – but with the backing of the orchestra, he is able to tap back into the emotional tenor of the songs, as if the drama of the strings and the portent of the brass is sweeping him backwards in time.

So rich is Want’s tapestry – both musically and thematically – that splitting it in half feels like the right decision. Opener Oh What a World, with its swooning interpolations of Ravel’s Boléro, plays like Wainwright in microcosm; sonically stirring and lyrically, deliciously witty. The orchestra soar on I Don’t Know What It Is, his heady, undulating lament of a music industry in flux that remains as relevant as ever. Go or Go Ahead might be the highlight, six minutes of symphonic pop majesty that explodes into life over and over.

There are moments of reflection, too. Wainwright is on relaxed, chatty form, admitting that he had been so caught up in the detail of these sumptuous arrangements that he messed up “the simplest piano song I’ve ever written”, Pretty Things, at the last two Want shows. This time, he nails it. Later, he dedicates Natasha to a friend in the audience, as well as a song to his husband Jörn, who’s also in the house. Friends and family are woven through his work, especially on Want, which makes myriad references to his own personal mythology, being part of a dynasty of musical performers.

The title track references his mother, folk legend Kate McGarrigle, by name, but the most moving moment comes when he revisits Want One’s closer, Dinner at Eight. It is one of his very best songs, inspired by a furious disagreement with his father, Loudon Wainwright III. It is a track heavy on pathos to begin with, something heightened when he introduces it by acknowledging the difficulties of parenting; he has a 14-year-old daughter, who, as if to heighten the musical power of the Wainwright bloodline, happens to be Leonard Cohen’s granddaughter on her mother’s side. It’s a powerful moment, demonstrative of the emotional revelations that can spring forth from revisiting past work; the empathy he feels for his father twenty-two years later is palpable as he sings.

He returns for three one-song encores, including the evergreen Going To A Town, on which he mourns the state of America, and his version of Cohen’s Hallelujah, which sees the audience back him – and help him through a few lyrical stumbles. They probably would have kept him coming back forever, but instead he departs after a take on Jean Renoir’s La complainte de la butte; a workaholic, he has other projects to move on to, including a Kurt Weill tribute album and a final outing for his Judy Garland show in London next summer. In the meantime, though, perhaps there’ll be more Want Symphonic shows; it is an album that deserves consistent celebration.

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Rufus Wainwright can be found at his website | Facebook | and Instagram

The BBC Philharmonic can be found at his website | Facebook | and Instagram

Words by Joe Goggins: find him on X here

All photos by Ian Georgeson, courtesy of the BBC. All photos taken at Wainwright’s show with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on 20th September 2025