Actor John Malkovich plays a serial killer in The Infernal Comedy, and is shown with singers Laura Aikin and Aleksandra Zamojska, left. (Luminato)

American actor John Malkovich will make his Luminato debut playing a notorious Austrian serial killer in a musical performance this June as part of the annual festival of arts and culture.

The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer with music by the Vienna Academy Orchestra is making its North American debut with Malkovich in the lead role.

He plays Jack Unterweger, a convicted killer who reinvents himself as a literary celebrity by producing an acclaimed autobiography. A charming conman skilled at manipulating the media, Unterweger was paroled in 1990 and went on to kill 11 more women.

The show, which incorporates operatic arias by some of Unterweger's victims and a score by Michael Sturminger, has been touring Europe and goes on to festivals across the U.S.

Bruce Cockburn, shown performing in July 2005, will have his songs covered by many artists in the Canadian Songbook. (Canadian Press)

The work is part of the music program announced Tuesday for Luminato in 2010.

The centrepiece of this year's festival is Rufus Wainwright's opera Prima Donna, previously announced. Wainwright himself will give a solo performance at the beginning of the concert tour for his new album All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu.

The festival also has a focus on global divas, and includes performances by Argentinian Canadian Alejandra Ribera, Rupa and the April Fishes, Cape Verde native Carmen Souza and Toronto's Katenen (Cheka) Dioubate.

The popular Canadian Songbook event, which last year focused on the songs of Neil Young, this year will pay tribute to singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn.

Cockburn will perform in the event at Massey Hall, which will feature performances by Hawksley Workman, Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies, jazz guitarist Michael Occhipinti, Michel Rivard and guitarist Colin Linden.

Cockburn has been writing songs for 40 years. His hits include Lovers in a Dangerous Time, If I Had a Rocket Launcher and Wondering Where the Lions Are.

He told CBC News he felt honoured by the upcoming tribute.

"It feels like a milestone and a milestone worth celebrating," he said.

Also included in the music program:

• A late-night (11 p.m.) performance of Beethoven Symphony No. 9 by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
• World music legends Béla Fleck and Bassekou Kouyate.
• Global Blues program featuring Salif Keita and Razia Said.
• A classical concert by the Vienna Academy Orchestra.
• World premiere of Dark Star Requiem, a dramatic oratorio on the history of HIV-AIDS by poet Jill Battson and composer Andrew Staniland.

Luminato 2010 will be June 11-20 in Toronto.