Rufus Wainwright visits Huddersfield Grammar School

Jul 21 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

“I thought it would be great for the children to speak to someone who was both a celebrity in the pop world and versed in the classical.

“I asked him and his mum was here at the time and she was very enthusiastic and sister Martha was here at the same time too.”

Mum-of-three Eve said Rufus thought Marsden was ‘wonderful’.

She said: “He’s a very keen walker and was out on the moor and looking out onto the beautiful scenery.

“We often forget that Marsden is a little gem and people from abroad really do appreciate our lovely countryside.”

Canadian-American Rufus spoke to the children at the grammar school about his recent appearance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.

Afterwards, 15-year-old pupil Daisy Baldwin said: “It was amazing to meet Rufus, something I will not ever forget.”

The school presented the singer with a memento of his visit.

Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna opened at the Palace Theatre in Manchester last week.

The show centres on the story of fictional diva Régine Saint Laurent who is preparing to return to the operatic stage after six years’ absence and then falls in love with a journalist.

Instead of a New York opening, Prima Donna was debuted during the Manchester International Festival.