Mon 10 Apr 2006
Audio Book Review: Seven Classic Plays by William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, Alexandre Dumas, and more
Posted by Lady Jane under Classics , Education , K-12 Educators , Parents & Family , Poetry & Drama , Students
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"Seven Classic Plays" by William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, Alexandre Dumas, and more Length: 11 hours and 32 min. ISBN: 0-7861-2291-9   Listen to an excerpt with: Windows Media Player Real Player |
Now, for the first time in audio, Blackstone presents seven great plays in one volume: Euripides’ Medea, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Moliere’s The Imaginary Invalid, Dumas’ Camille, Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, Shaw’s Arms and the Man, and Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. These productions illustrate the development of European drama from ancient times to the threshold of the modern theater. A superb repertory company has been assembled for these recordings, all under the direction of veteran producer Yuri Rasovsky, who has won both the Audie Award for book production and the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcasting.
These are not mere readings. Rather, they are full performances using all the resources of audio to full advantage. Just as stage plays are “opened up” when adapted to film, so these selections create greater intimacy. “Staginess” is avoided, lively theatrics enhanced, while the substance of the works remains intact. For instance, in Arms and the Man, audio makes possible the judicious integration of the author’s witty scene settings, written for the published version of the play, with the play itself. This is the play that established Shaw’s reputation as one of the greatest wits of the London drama scene.
Music accounts for another noteworthy aspect of these productions. The Imaginary Invalid employs the score that Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed for Moliere’s own premiere. It is conducted by Steven Ovitsky, artistic director of the Milwaukee Symphony.
The Tempest, composed by Shakespeare as a multi-sensory theater experience, features music on Elizabethan instruments still extant from Shakespeare’s own production, resulting in lyrical textual passages, overflowing with exotic images, tantalizing sounds, and a palpable lushness.
Tags: seven classic plays, william shakespeare, henrik ibsen, anton chekhov, alexandre dumas, and more, classics, education, k-12 educators, parents & family, poetry & drama, students, euripides, medea, william shakespeare, the tempest, moliere, the imaginary invalid, alexandre dumas, camille, henrik ibsen, an enemy of the people, george bernard shaw, arms and the man, anton chekhov, uncle vanya