http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7655167.stm I’m always interested in putting Shakespeare to music, I think it makes things much easier to memorize (and I’ve got the geeklets to prove it). Here’s a story about a guy from a Beatles tribute band doing a show where he does exactly that, putting Shakespeare’s words to the Beatles’ music. “The speeches are harder to do,” says the singer who did not study Shakespeare in school. “But the sonnets seem to be very easy. They are perfect to put into music.” There is a multimedia widget on the page, but I cannot get it to play. I’ll update if I get it working. UPDATE: Got the player working in Internet Explorer. It is….well, let’s just say you have to like the Beatles, shall we? It’s certainly Shakespeare’s words, but it’s more like “Hey that’s the Beatles doing Shakespeare” rather than “Hey that’s Shakespeare put to music”, you know? I don’t think I’d love a whole show of it. I’ll take Rufus Wainwright any day.
On the UK edition of Sting’s Sacred Love CD, there’s a track called “Like a Beautiful Smile.” It’s basically Sonnet 18 set to music, with an added chorus.