True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright
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| Language: | English |
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Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
2016
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1476645017261653 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu14766450172616532021-08-03T06:38:43Z True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright Salerno, Stephanie Music American Studies Gender Gender Studies Performing Arts Glbt Studies Affect Classical Art Song Concept Album Death Emotion Fan Studies Genre Grief Kate McGarrigle LGBT Live Performance Performativity Popular Music Public Mourning Queer Rhizome Rufus Wainwright Song Cycle Textual Analysis Trauma Vocality This dissertation studies the cultural significance of Canadian-American singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright’s (b. 1973) album <i>All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu</i> (Decca, 2010). <i>Lulu</i> was written, recorded, and toured in the years surrounding the illness and eventual death of his mother, beloved Quebecoise singer/songwriter Kate McGarrigle. The album, performed as a classical song cycle, stands out amongst Wainwright’s musical catalogue as a hybrid composition that mixes classical and popular musical forms and styles. More than merely a collection of songs about death, loss, and personal suffering, <i>Lulu</i> is a vehicle that enabled him to grieve through music. I argue that Wainwright’s performativity, as well as the music itself, can be understood as queer, or as that which transgresses traditional or expected boundaries. In this sense, Wainwright’s artistic identity and musical trajectory resemble a rhizome, extending in multiple directions and continually expanding to create new paths and outcomes. Instances of queerness reveal themselves in the genre hybridity of the <i>Lulu</i> song cycle, the emotional vulnerability of Wainwright’s vocal performance, the deconstruction of gender norms in live performance, and the circulation of affect within the performance space. In this study, I examine the song cycle form, Wainwright’s musical score and vocal performance, live performance videos, and fan reactions to live performances in order to identify meaningful moments where Wainwright’s musical and performative decisions queer audience expectations. While these musical moments contribute to the already rich and varied lineage of the gay male artist in both classical and popular music, I argue that Wainwright’s queer performativity and nontraditional musical choices speak to larger issues important to American culture in the contemporary moment. These issues include the visibility of male public mourning and the healing power of artistic expression in the face of traumatic loss. 2016-11-02 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1476645017261653 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1476645017261653 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Music American Studies Gender Gender Studies Performing Arts Glbt Studies Affect Classical Art Song Concept Album Death Emotion Fan Studies Genre Grief Kate McGarrigle LGBT Live Performance Performativity Popular Music Public Mourning Queer Rhizome Rufus Wainwright Song Cycle Textual Analysis Trauma Vocality |
| spellingShingle |
Music American Studies Gender Gender Studies Performing Arts Glbt Studies Affect Classical Art Song Concept Album Death Emotion Fan Studies Genre Grief Kate McGarrigle LGBT Live Performance Performativity Popular Music Public Mourning Queer Rhizome Rufus Wainwright Song Cycle Textual Analysis Trauma Vocality Salerno, Stephanie True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright |
| author |
Salerno, Stephanie |
| author_facet |
Salerno, Stephanie |
| author_sort |
Salerno, Stephanie |
| title |
True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright |
| title_short |
True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright |
| title_full |
True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright |
| title_fullStr |
True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright |
| title_full_unstemmed |
True Loves, Dark Nights: Queer Performativity and Grieving Through Music in the Work of Rufus Wainwright |
| title_sort |
true loves, dark nights: queer performativity and grieving through music in the work of rufus wainwright |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2016 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1476645017261653 |
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AT salernostephanie truelovesdarknightsqueerperformativityandgrievingthroughmusicintheworkofrufuswainwright |
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