From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up--The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare offers listeners the first-ever audio set of all 38 of William Shakespeare's plays, unabridged and fully-dramatized. Using a cast of almost 400 actors, most of whom trained at the Royal Shakespeare Company, this set offers Shakespeare in a manner that provides the best of both worlds: the convenient mobility of the audio format and classic, dramatic readings by skilled Shakespearean actors that are reminiscent of Sir Laurence Olivier's Shakespearean performances. Sound effects are skillfully layered and add to the intensity of the pieces as they are presented. The quality of these CDs is remarkable. The diction is clear, the emotions are strong, and the sound effects are well-chosen, easily creating the worlds of the plays in listeners minds. The major drawback for school and public libraries is that the entire series must be purchasedâ€"plays are not available on an individual basis. Since most high schools teach only four Shakespearean playsâ€"Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Julietâ€"purchasing this series in its entirety is a major investment that might be better suited to university libraries and drama departments. Public libraries can purchase the entire series for use by college students and adults as well as high school students. Any library that does purchase this exceptionally well-done, impressive masterwork will enjoy it for years to come since Audio Partners has a lifetime replacement policy.--Heather J. Stockwell, Leach Library, Londonderry, NH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
This dramatization is strongest at the strangest and most intense moments of this great tragedy. When Macbeth meets the weird sisters, when Lady Macbeth reveals her soul in a monologue, or when the forces clash in battle, this dramatization is hypnotic. The performances are first rate, and the sound quality is varied and nicely layered; each character speaks in a different cadence, with some difference in accent, and multiple background sound effects (a horn, the wind) combine to suggest a lively world without obscuring the core dialogue. However, the more mundane moments-the planning, the consideration-are harder to follow, and harder to care about, with no actors to watch. G.T.B. [Selection from The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare set.] © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile, June/July 2004
"Thirty-eight unabridged plays with outstanding casts offer a paragon of audio theater."

Entertainment Weekly, June 4, 2004
"It’s a lifetime of great listening. A+"

Bookviews.com, May 2003
"It is an unparalleled opportunity to listen, at one’s pleasure, to any of [Shakespeare’s] works."

Heather J. Stockwell, School Library Journal, February 2004
"The quality of these CDs is remarkable… easily creating the worlds of the plays in listeners’ minds."

Town & Country, April 2004
". . . brilliantly realized by almost four hundred of Britain’s best classical actors."

Book Description
For the first time in audio publishing history, all of Shakespeare's plays are available in one extraordinary, definitive collection. Based on The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, here are all of the master's 38 plays, complete and unabridged, fully dramatized on CDs with an original score and sound design for each play. A monumental project that spanned five years and cost $3 million, The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare represents the collective vision of four people: Shakespeare scholar Tom Treadwell, film producer Bill Shepherd, BBC director Clive Brill, and composer Dominique Le Gendre. Together they have assembled the 400 great actors of the British theater and produced a landmark digital recording with a sophisticated layering of sound that immerses the listener in Shakespeare's world.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For the first time in audio publishing history, all of Shakespeare's plays are available in one extraordinary, definitive collection. Based on The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, here are all of the master's 38 plays, complete and unabridged, fully dramatized on CDs with an original score and sound design for each play. A monumental project that spanned five years and cost $3 million, The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare represents the collective vision of four people: Shakespeare scholar Tom Treadwell, film producer Bill Shepherd, BBC director Clive Brill, and composer Dominique Le Gendre. Together they have assembled the 400 great actors of the British theater and produced a landmark digital recording with a sophisticated layering of sound that immerses the listener in Shakespeare's world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal