Rufus Wainwright

What are we to make of Rufus Wainwright? The faaabulous piano crooner is seemingly on the fast track to Vegas with his recent Judy Garland tribute album and an impending opera with a French libretto. Fans who fell in love with Wainwright’s first two albums of rococo pop might feel a little put off by his sudden — though wholly expected — turn toward Broadway schmaltz. Still, there’s nary a man or woman who can deny the power of his unshakable voice and Neil Diamond-style glitter. (The fashion police have been on guard since his 2007 VooDoo Lounge revue.) If someone is going to revive Tin Pan Alley, it might as well be Rufus.