From School Library Journal Gr 10 Up-Naxos AudioBooks' top-drawer Classic Drama Series blissfully continues with this exquisite rendition of Othello starring Hugh Quarshie， Anton Lesser， Emma Fielding， and a full cast of professional English actors with extensive credits in the Royal National Theatre， BBC Radio Drama Company， and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Shakespeare's most domestic tragedy is an exceedingly complex journey through jealousy， self-doubt， inadequacies， and societal acceptance. Passed over for military promotion， Iago， perhaps Shakespeare's most nefarious character， manipulates Othello's downfall， culminating in the murder of his beloved wife， Desdemona， and Othello's subsequent suicide. Under David Timson's stewardship as director， the story is beautifully and simply told， embellished only with intermittent brassy flourishes of classical music and a dramatic echo effect and throbbing heart beat to underscore Othello's chaotic descent and rage. While the entire cast is excellent， the trio of Quarshie (Othello)， Lesser (Iago)， and Fielding (Desdemona) are outstanding. An outline of each individual cassette， complete synopsis， full notes regarding the text， and cast biographies are included in a compact 24-page supplemental booklet. For all collections.-Barry X. Miller， Austin Public Library， TXCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition. From AudioFile One of Shakespeare's four greatest tragedies， OTHELLO has been brought to stage and screen countless times. This recording， part of Arkangel's usually solid series of the Bard's plays， adds little to this history of performances. Don Warrington in the title role is awkwardly un-Moorish， though David Threlfall is more convincing as the villainous Iago - cold and calculating without any exaggerated fiendishness. Some of the minor characters shine also (particularly the Clown， who appears in just two scenes)， but the music， often a highlight of Arkangel recordings， is unfortunately cloying and improbable in this production， adding another minor disappointment. D.B. © AudioFile 2002， Portland， Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile， Portland， Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews