Paradise Lost (Naxos AudioBooks)
One could hardly hope for a more intelligent reading of Milton's epic poem, relating Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve and their fall. Anton Lesser's clarity, expressiveness, and careful weighting of each phrase deserve high praise. The dialogue comes across like Shakespearean drama, and while Lesser doesn't vary his voice much, he strikes the right note for each character. In Satan's soliloquies, when he whispers, Lesser's reading is thrilling; but when he thunders, his somewhat thin tenor makes him sound querulous rather than grand, so where we expect tympani, we get a snare drum. Still, Lesser provides so much else it seems small-minded to cavil at this flaw. He makes Milton exciting.  W.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine--Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine