Synopsis

Rufus Wainwright wakes up surrounded by five famous opera heroines, including Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Carmen, Gilda, and Mimi. After the group gathers around the piano, they venture into Los Angeles, where their tragic destinies follow them into the modern world. Wainwright repeatedly tries to intervene as the women face comic but fatal situations involving suicide, murder, and other melodramatic misfortunes. Each rescue attempt ends too late, turning the song's romantic longing into an affectionate parody of opera's most famously doomed characters.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was the first promotional music video made for Wainwright's self-titled 1998 debut album.

• Its central characters are drawn from five operas: Puccini's *Tosca*, *Madama Butterfly*, and *La Boheme*, Bizet's *Carmen*, and Verdi's *Rigoletto*.

• Martha Wainwright, Rufus' sister, appears as Cio-Cio-San, the heroine of *Madama Butterfly*.

• Gwen Stefani makes a cameo appearance. Stefani was a friend of the video's production team, and part of the video was filmed inside her Los Angeles home.

• Melissa Auf der Maur also appears. She and Wainwright knew each other from high school in Montreal and later shared a home in Los Angeles.

• The video's comic treatment of tragic opera heroines reflects Wainwright's longstanding fascination with opera, a theme that would become even more prominent in his later work.

• The song was produced by Jon Brion and originally appeared on *Rufus Wainwright*, released by DreamWorks Records in May 1998.