(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Rufus Wainwright, one of the great male vocalists, composers, and songwriters of his generation, will present “Oh Solo Wainwright: An Evening with Rufus,” with special guest The Rails, at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts on Friday, August 23.  Showtime is 8:00pm.  Tickets range from $39 to $59 and a VIP Meet & Greet Package is available for $209.

Wainwright – who has collaborated with artists such as Elton John, David Byrne, Robbie Williams, Mark Ronson, Joni Mitchell, and Burt Bacharach – has released eight studio albums, three DVDs, and three live albums. His album “Rufus Does Judy,” recorded at Carnegie Hall in 2006, was nominated for a Grammy.

His acclaimed first opera, “Prima Donna,” premiered at the Manchester International Festival in July 2009 and has since been presented in London, Toronto, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. This summer it will be performed at the Armel Opera Festival in Hungary and Augsburg Theatre in Germany.  In 2015, Deutsche Grammaphon released a studio recording of the opera recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Wainwright celebrated the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with his most recent album, “Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets,” released by on Deutsche Grammophon in spring 2016.

The Canadian Opera Company commissioned Wainwright’s second opera – “Hadrian,” about Roman Emperor Hadrian – which premiered in Toronto in the fall of 2018.

The Grunin Center is located on the OCC Main Campus, on College Drive in Toms River, New Jersey.