Location
I am a great admirer of Venice and my husband and I have spent quite some time there. Even when it is full of tourists, which it won’t be now, I find it gloriously fascinating, so my festival would simply have to be there. They were all in gondolas, so we would all be socially estranged and there would be a beautiful band show on one of the islands. It would be like going to a drive-in theater, but to a boat.
The titular act
I’ve often wondered why most festivals don’t have a wider variety of acts, because I’ve always had a penchant for different universes of music. In vaudeville times they could have a magical act followed by a comedian. A few years ago, there was an act from a Wagner opera performed in Glastonbury [by the English National Opera in 2004], and I like the idea of mixing opera with rock and pop. Opera is as much about what happens in the audience as it is about what happens on stage: historically, people used to hang out at the opera to enjoy the intrigue and scandal. So instead of the usual short break where people go and buy a sausage roll, it would be fun to have an entire opera like Tosca sandwiched between each act.
For my headliners Florence + the machine would fit well with opera. Florence Welch is not only a fantastic performer, she also has a touch of opera. I saw her once at the Hollywood Bowl and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I was amazed.
Five more acts
Things would start early in the morning with Tosca’s first act, delivered by the La Fenice Theater. After the first act we would have a folk acoustic set, then Martha Wainwright. Looking at my sister is a three-edged sword. On the one hand, I am overwhelmed by love – he is probably my closest relative and we started acting together. The singer in me can be competitive, but I’m a huge fan and it’s nice to sit and enjoy his music like a human being. Father John Misty It would be next because I would be looking for artists who really knew how to command a stage. Björk he is almost creating his own existence as an opera with art and costumes. She is heavily influenced by the wizardry of the stage and she herself is a kind of legendary opera character. As the day goes by, Genius perfume He would be a perfect sunset artist. It is very playful and humorous, which is not as common as one might think. Right now, people are pretty drunk and ready to break loose, so I’d take out the DJs, maybe Mark Ronson and Kid Koala. There would be serious lifeboats in case someone fell off their boat. I like legacy acts to make Neil Young fun. Sigur Rós. Oh, and Lizzo … and Beyoncé! It is the festival of my dreams, right? So money is not an object.
Non-musical activity.
I foresee a one-day event: you are not going to spend a weekend in a gondola. But it would be nice if people could swim. I imagine the water is much cleaner now, due to the shutdown.
The food
I’m not sure a stand will work with gondolas, but being in Italy you would have the most amazing Italian food transported to ships. So I imagine an elaborate breakfast, lunch and dinner, pasta and ravioli, all washed down with wine during the opera sections. A true Italian food festival!
• Rufus Wainwright’s new album Unfollow the Rules will be released on July 10 on BMG
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