29 February 2016
Newsdesk
Singer Florence Welch is teaming up with Rufus Wainwright to celebrate the work of William Shakespeare.
The Florence + The Machine star has recorded a sonnet by the revered British playwright for Rufus' new project, which marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.
Actors Helena Bonham Carter, Carrie Fisher, William Shatner, and Sian Phillips, and singers Anna Prohaska and Rufus' sister Martha Wainwright have also contributed to the album Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets.
Rufus reveals it was a joy to work on the collection, especially as he got to reunite with producer Marius de Vries.
"For me, recording this album has been a marriage made in heaven, as it combines my love of classical music with my love of pop music," Rufus states in a press release. "It's literally historically fun. And made all the better by working again with Marius."
He and Marius last worked together on the American-Canadian star's Want One and Want Two albums in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Rufus has long admired Shakespeare's sonnets and first incorporated it in his work in 2009, when director Robert Wilson approached the singer/songwriter to compose the music for his Shakespeare's Sonnets stage production, reports NME.com.
Rufus went on to orchestrate five of the sonnets for the San Francisco Symphony in California in 2010, including three of the tracks on his album Songs For Lulu.
Meanwhile, Florence may be feeling like she is a living representation of a Shakespearean love sonnet, with reports the star is enamoured with childhood friend and fellow musician Felix White. The Mirror reported last week (endsFri26Feb16) the pair have been dating for a few months now.
