Rufus finally gets his opera commission

An enigmatic post in the Feb. 11 New York Times let us know that Rufus Wainwright is indeed slated to compose something that sounds like an opera. The longish article ends by saying:

“The Met and the theater have commissioned works from a range of composers and playwrights, some of them outside the classical tradition. The pieces will be workshopped and then guided toward either the Vivian Beaumont Theater or the Met stage. The Met is holding open a spot during the 2011-12 season for the first product of this collaboration. The artists include the team of Jeannine Tesori and Tony Kushner, as well as Rufus Wainwright, Scott Wheeler and Michael Torke.”

I wonder whether he’ll incorporate the various songs from the mid 90s (“The Bela Song,” “The Schubert Song,” and “The Red Thread”) that were supposedly for his opera.

New Yorker critic, Alex Ross, didn’t even mention Rufus in his synopsis. Ah c’mon Alex, I know you’re a Rufus fan… wrote: “…the choice of Rufus Wainwright may turn out to be inspired.”