King Lear (Naxos AudioBooks)
by William Shakespeare
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Book Summary Information
Author: William ShakespeareNarrator: Paul Scofield
Narrator: Alec McCowen
Narrator: Kenneth Branagh
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Published: 2002-02
ISBN: 9626342447
Publisher: Naxos Audio Books
Book Reviews of King Lear (Naxos AudioBooks)
Book Review: AS GOOD AS IT GETS but might have been better with the Quarto reading
Summary: 4 Stars
The received text of King Lear, Shakespeare's greatest play for our times, comes as always in various versions and editions. There is the original Quarto version, and a later Folio version. Most modern editions of the play lean towards one or the other, or wisely combine the two. Particularly helpful is the old, faithful The Tragedy Of King Lear (The Yale Shakespeare) done a half century ago by Professor Tucker Brooke, I believe is the name, shortly before his death, which includes all lines from both Folio and Quarto, distinguishing what appears in one but not in the other by the clear use of parentheses or brackets. I find this much more useful than the squiggly band of ants and mites which normally indicate variant readings in the middle of the pages of the current respected critical editions, including the traditional King Lear (Arden Shakespeare).
Amazingly we receive Lear at all, considering its history and the fact that for two hundred years a false and unfortunate and unauthentic "happy" Hollywood ending was imposed upon its productions, as if MacBeth and MacDuff embrace at the end of the Scots tragedy. We are fortunate in our times to find the massive and meticulous scholarship which has gone into the integral restoration of Lear, combining the two versions and smoothing over disagreements. It is amazing in how much the two versions agree, and yet each has a good chunk of play which the other does not, such as the Quarto's mock trial of the fox daughters. Normally now these missing chunks are included with notation.
Not so here. The only shadow upon this otherwise excellent recording is that it presents the Folio alone, as indicated in the comprehensive brochure enclosed, and in the specific endorsement of the The Tragedy of King Lear (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) on the back cover. Thus we lose much in gaining the great Scofield.
And Scofield is truly great, the noted actor's actor, whom other great actors such as O'Toole and Harris would sneak out to watch in action, the actor best known here for A Man for All Seasons (Special Edition). Scofield presented Lear in the theatre for this same director while in his forties; here he is recorded about 2001 in his eighties, voice ever powerful, a finely tuned and a varied instrument, the most precise of the English tongue, here presented in all of its fullness.
The supporting players as well are excellent, though one may as always have quibbles. I find for instance the remarks by Cornwall after the taking of the second eye too casually delivered, especially as he stands mortally wounded. And my personal take on Cordelia has always been against the typical presentation: I see her as quite small in stature, even dwarfish, thus well beloved by Fool and father but less favored in society, but especially with some physical trouble in speech which prevents her from speaking freely in public, but again especially beloved by Fool and father. Rather is she always presented as most noble and regal and physically, verbally, wonderful.
We must also wonder at her being left behind by her fiance, who more wisely might have left things to fall as they must in Britain and return at a later time more easily. We think therefore of Joyce's tale of Eveline, and her urgency in loving her father more than any other, even husband. But these ideas wander from the direct technical consideration of this production.
This three disk set is as good as we can get, with the great Scofield in command. I might wish for a better and more foolish Fool, but then again this is Kenneth Branagh, and who after all could be better. I prefer the elderly Fool seen elsewhere, but that is perhaps another too personal reading.
If only this recording considered the Quarto as well!
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