Customer Reviews

Antony and Cleopatra (Arkangel Shakespeare)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have just finished listening to Antony and Cleopatra and cannot speak highly enough of this fine recording. The acting is as good or better than any of the stage productions I've seen and the scenes between Antony and Cleopatra crackle with sensuality (although I did wonder how they make the kissing sounds). This is the first of this series I've listened to, but I plan to go through the entire library if this is representative of the overall quality.

I think it was Aristotle who wrote that in order to have a tragedy you must have a truly heroic figure brought low by a single character flaw. Mark Antony, master of half the world, is brought low by his love for a conniving woman. Or at least that's the surface story. Beneath the surface lies the story of two people bound together by political expediency, military necessity, economic need, and passion. They shamelessly use and manipulate each other, but when all is said and done, they truly have passionate feelings for each other. I'm not sure you could really call it love. Whatever you call it, it serves as the core of a very good story that is part adventure, part romance, all tragedy.

Arkangel's production values are excellent. The sound quality is very good, the lines are well-spoken, and the plot is easy to follow even if you have never read the play.

I've loved Antony and Cleopatra for 40 years and was delighted with the superb quality of this production, with Estelle Kohler and Ciaran Hinds going the distance as the greatest lovers of all time. By the time he wrote A&C, Shakespeare wrote poetry like Mozart wrote music, infinitely beautiful, infinitely easy, and the actors give it all they are worth. This story thrills with a tragedy deeper than time and is worth all your attention. I agree with an earlier reviewer - this IS as good as any stage play I've seen, if that is possible. So far Arkangel's recordings are hitting a standard I have seldom seen, and this is perhaps the best of that high standard. Listen and go to Shakespeare heaven!

This set of three CDs contains a really great dramatization of Shakespeare's classic play, Antony and Cleopatra. Arkangel brought together a battery of great actors (including Ciaran Hinds(!) and David Burke), who really brought the story to life. My one and only complaint is that they story is produced straight out of the book - which means that there is very little introduction of the cast of characters or of the scenes. When you read the play, you see the scene described and the characters listed, and when you see the play performed you see the scenery and see the faces of the actors. But, in this purely audio play you have to get to know the characters from their voices alone, and sometimes it is a little hard to imagine where the action is actually taking place.

But, in spite of that little problem, I really did enjoy the play and had little problem following the broad outline of what was happening to whom and why. Yep, I found this to be a very enjoyable dramatization, and I do not hesitate to recommend it!