One of the more unexpected tributes to Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death is provided here by actor William Shatner, who hams up Sonnet 129 before soprano Anna Prohaska trills the poem to a nouveaux-classical accompaniment. Take All My Loves is an uneasy marriage of classical and pop, on which the sonnets are often overwhelmed by Wainwright’s extravagantly theatrical arrangements. It has come to something when Florence Welch, who sings the waltz-time When in Disgrace With Fortune and Men’s Eyes (Sonnet 29), is called upon to provide nuance and subtlety. Wainwright’s many guest stars include his sister Martha, who pops up on Unperfect Actor (Sonnet 23), while Shatner’s fellow thesps Siân Phillips, Helena Bonham Carter, Carrie Fisher and Peter Eyre also provide spoken word recitals. Bewilderingly, Sonnet 66 is translated into German (the genesis of the project was Wainwright’s collaboration with the Berliner Ensemble) and sounds like a Brecht/Weill composition.
