According to NY Times, Rufus Wainwright has dropped his plans to compose a work for the Metropolitan Opera in a dispute over the language of the libretto (they wanted English, he wanted French).

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Mr. Wainwright said another stumbling block was the date of a potential production at the opera house. The earliest the Met could offer, he said, was in 2014. “They work on that sort of scale; I wanted to get it out as soon as possible,” he said, adding wryly, “because I’m an impatient pop star.”

He said his opera, about a day in the life of an aging soprano in 1970s Paris, would have its premiere next July at the Manchester International Festival in England. He said he was orchestrating the score now. [NYTimes.com]

Other new works in progress for the Met include a collaboration between composer Nico Mulhy and one between writer Craig Lucas and composer Michael Torke, writer Michael Korie and director Des McAnuff.