 Antony and The Johnsons won the Mercury Prize in 2005 |
Antony and the Johnsons and Natalie Merchant are among the cult acts who have been enlisted by the RSC for a show inspired by Shakespeare's sonnets. Liz Fraser from the Cocteau Twins will also contribute to the show, entitled Nothing Like The Sun.
The artists have been asked to compose music to accompany a chosen sonnet, to be performed by an eight-piece chamber orchestra from Opera North.
The show will be staged over two nights at Stratford-upon-Avon next February.
It will then go on tour to Nottingham, Manchester, Gateshead and Leeds in March.
Straddling genres
The production forms part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works festival, one of the most ambitious projects in the company's history.
According to an RSC spokeswoman, the score will straddle pop, contemporary and classical music genres.
The second half of the show will comprise a 40-minute composition by British composer Gavin Bryars based around seven of Shakespeare's sonnets.
Dominic Gray, Opera North's project director, describes Bryars as "a leading figure across the worlds of jazz and contemporary classical music who writes beautifully for the voice".
One-Minute World News 
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