E-Mail This Article to a Friend Burning down the opera house David Byrne tackles Verdi and Bizet BY MAC RANDALL

Fans of David Byrne long ago grew used to the man’s fondness for stylistic tourism. Not content with the avant-funk bomb he detonated as leader of Talking Heads, Byrne has since dabbled in Brazilian flavors (1989’s Rei Momo), orchestral composition (1991’s The Forest), and techno moods (1997’s Feelings). At this point, what more could he possibly do to surprise his audience? Well, how about opera? On Grown Backwards (Nonesuch), Byrne, in addition to his own material, croons arias by Georges Bizet and Giuseppe Verdi. And if that’s not weird enough for you, he actually sings them pretty well.

"I’m not incredibly knowledgeable about opera," Byrne, who plays Berklee Performance Center tonight (May 20), explains over the phone from his downtown Manhattan office, "but I’d known the Bizet piece ["Au fond du temple saint," from Les pêcheurs de perles] for at least 10 years — I was hoping to use it for a film project that never happened, and then I just filed it away in my memory. I heard the Verdi one ["Un dí felice, eterea," from La traviata] about a year ago, and I thought, what a great song. Really hooky, and . . . it’s in my range, too! Why not go for it? Some people are going to hate this for all kinds of reasons, and it might not be orthodox, but I suspect that when these things were written, they were treated more as songs than they are now. Now they’re locked away in the gilded palaces uptown. I wanted to do them so they sound nice as songs."

One of Grown Backwards’ most illustrious guests, Rufus Wainwright, duets splendidly with Byrne on the Bizet aria; he also helped out in the delicate matter of proper French pronunciation. "I met Rufus when he was a guest on Sessions at West 54th," Byrne says, referring to the late, lamented PBS music show that he hosted during the ’90s, "and I knew from his press kit that he was a huge opera fan, so it was a natural choice." (It’s surprising to note that out of all the great musicians Byrne met through his TV duties, Wainwright is the only one he’s gone on to work with. "For most of the people on the show, it was strictly business," he says, a tad ruefully.)

Byrne calls the Verdi and Bizet arias, which he handles with gusto and without much trace of strain, "the emotional key" to Grown Backwards. And though emotion isn’t worn quite so openly on the rest of the album, there’s enough here — from the pointedly political jibes of "Empire" to the wry cultural commentary of "Civilization" — to make this one of his most satisfying solo releases. Often drenched in strings and brass, it’s a Byrnese take on chamber pop. "I think I’ve gotten more confident about how it [classical instrumentation] fits in with me musically. Or maybe I just didn’t care any more whether or not an audience would like it. From the first couple of songs, people are going to hear what this is about, and I’m not going to try and fool them into thinking that they’re getting a funk record."

What they are getting is a collection of tunes that reflect their author’s recent personal turmoil — including break-ups with both his wife and his business manager — in a more straightforward manner than you’d expect from this typically enigmatic artist. If lyrics like "I’m glad I got lost . . . I’m glad I’m a mess . . . I’m glad I’m not nice" are anything to go by, the track that anchors the album, "Glad," sounds as if it might have started as a personal pep talk. Byrne acknowledges as much but adds, "It’s also maybe my most Eastern song, in terms of Eastern philosophy. I’m saying that the bad stuff is to be treasured just as much as the good stuff, and if I can do that, then I’m ready to accept everything."

And what about this line: "I’m glad when I get my girlfriends’ names confused"? "I have never done that," Byrne hastens to reply. "It’s just hypothetical. But that was one of those lines where I was like, ‘Aw c’mon, I’ve gotta say that!’ "

For the Grown Backwards tour, Byrne’s back-up incorporates a bassist, a drummer, a percussionist, and a string section. As usual, you can expect interesting rearrangements of old solo and Talking Heads numbers, including a new version of "Psycho Killer" that he says is all about "tension — you’ll recognize the song right away, but you don’t get the payoff till the very end." The new "Psycho Killer" apparently went over quite well when he played it at on a recent swing through France. "I thought the French would love it anyway because ‘Psycho Killer’ has French lyrics in it, and I was right," he says with a bemused laugh. "It got a big cheer."

David Byrne performs tonight, May 20, at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston; call (617) 266-1400.