Canada’s Rufus Wainwright is stepping back into the spotlight with the release of his latest album, Dream Requiem. Drawing inspiration from multiple sources that include a Lord Byron poem, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi and his dog Puccini (who died suddenly months after adopting him), it also happens to be narrated by Meryl Streep. Here, the artist shares how he met his husband, Jörn Weisbrodt — the pair lived in Toronto together for many years after Weisbrodt was tapped to be artistic director of Luminato Festival.
How they met
Jörn: We met in Berlin almost 20 years ago after a show that Rufus did. I wanted to propose a project to Rufus to write music.
Rufus: I wasn’t really interested, but I was interested in Jörn.
Jörn: I didn’t think Rufus would ever be interested in me.
The first date
Our first date was on Long Island the day after Rufus’s birthday. We went to a party for Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center. We kissed at the end for the first time. The next day we went to the beach and had a lazy afternoon at friends of ours who had a house on the beach in Amagansett, and in the evening we had sex on the beach.
The relationship
What really sealed the deal in us being together was a week that we spent in Montauk a couple of months after we met. Rufus was on tour when we met, and Jörn lived in Berlin at the time. After the tour was over, Rufus rented a guest house on the old Andy Warhol estate in Montauk for the month of September. It was a magical week.
The proposal
Rufus proposed over an Indian meal in London. He hadn’t even bought an engagement ring, so we did that the next day. It was quite a surprise as we never talked about getting married before, and it hadn’t really been an option, as gay marriage wasn’t really accepted in the U.S. yet.
The wedding and honeymoon
We got married in our house in Montauk. It was quite a lavish wedding. The ceremony was in our garden. We had about 300 people. We had dinner at the Clam Bar, which is the one and only time they have ever done a wedding there. Our after party was at the Shagwong, which is a very old, traditional restaurant and bar in Montauk. The Rolling Stones used to hang out there. Mark Ronson DJed, Sean Lennon sang YMCA and Carrie Fisher did an amazing spoken word performance as well. Our honeymoon was in Big Sur.
The kids (and pets)
We have a daughter and share custody for her with her mother who also lives in Los Angeles. During the pandemic we decided to get a dog and are the proud parents of Siegfried, the most beautiful dog on the planet, a Toy Australian Shepherd.
Shared hobbies and interests
We both love opera and going to Barry’s Bootcamp — although Rufus does the running classes and Jörn does the bike classes.
The secret to success
That we are very different in a lot of ways and very similar in others.
The future together
We would love to travel more and spend time in some of the other places that we have. Our house in Montauk but also our apartment in Berlin — spending more time in Europe is definitely a dream.
