The Essential Shakespeare Live (British Library) (2 CD Set)

British Library, The

ISBN 10: 0712305246 ISBN 13: 9780712305242

Publisher: British Library, 2010

Synopsis

The British Library and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) join forces to publish this remarkable audio treasury of live Shakespearian performances. Selected from an extensive collection of recordings made by the British Library Sound Archive, these two double CD sets offer scenes and speeches from some of the most celebrated Shakespeare productions in the history of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The extracts cover almost half a century of productions, from Laurence Olivier as Coriolanus in 1959 to Ian McKellen as King Lear in 2007.  Both Essential Shakespeare Live and Essential Shakespeare Encore! also include booklets that reproduce the play-text of each recorded extract in full along with introductions by Gregory Doran, Chief Association Director of the RSC.

            Essential Shakespeare Live features such notable actors of stage and screen as Judi Dench, Peter Brook, John Barton, Peggy Ashcroft, Alan Howard, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Alan Rickman, Anthony Sher, Donald Sinden, Robert Stephens, Patrick Stewart, Janet Suzman, and David Warner.  Among the plays included in the set are King Lear, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, All’s Well that Ends Well, Henry V, and Richard III.

About this title

About the Author

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. Gregory Doran is the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His notable productions include Macbeth starring Antony Sher, which was filmed for Channel 4 in 2001, as well as Hamlet in 2008, starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. His most recent productions include Morte D'Arthur and The Canterbury Tales.

Reviews

Starred Review. Bravos all round to the Royal Shakespeare Company and the British Library Sound Archive past and present for this tantalizing selection of brief scenes culled from recorded performances by an ultimate all-star cast. Doran, associate director of the RSC, begins with Olivier as Coriolanus at Stratford in 1959 and moves into the '60s with Scofield as Lear, David Warner as Hamlet, Ashcroft as Queen Margaret in The War of the Roses. The '70s finds a young, round-faced Patrick Stewart as Cassius, Janet Suzman as Cleopatra and McKellen and Francesca Annis as Romeo and Juliet. In the '80s, Derek Jacobi plays Prospero, Alan Rickman is Jacques in As You Like It and Brian Cox does Titus Andronicus. In the '90s, Robert Stephens as Falstaff and David Oyelowo as Henry VI lead to a glorious finish with Dench as Countess Rossillion in All's Well That Ends Well at a 2003 Stratford performance. Sound quality is not uniform throughout, but thumps and bumps and audience responses add to the excitement of live performances. The companion booklet is essential reading, as wonderful as these scenes are, since none are introduced or identified on the discs. The photos illuminate the proceedings but leave one wanting more. Theater buffs, schools and libraries will all applaud this treat and should demand encores. (Jan.)
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Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Gregory Doran has assembled scenes and speeches from RSC productions from 1959 to the present into a powerful audio presentation. Lovers of Shakespeare will truly enjoy this treasure trove of great performances, with each track from the British Library Sound Archive presented in this audio format for the first time. Imagine listening to Laurence Olivier as Coriolanus speaking to the people of Rome; Janet Suzman as Cleopatra terrorizing a hapless messenger; Alan Rickman contemplating the Seven Ages of Man; and Patrick Stewart as Cassius in JULIUS CAESAR, to name a few of the highlights. While the audio presentation is captivating on its own, following along with the provided written text enhances the experience enormously. M.R.E. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: British Library
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0712305246
• ISBN 13: 9780712305242
• Binding: Audio CD