Search - Ellen Mandel :: Every Play's an Opera

Drama by Music

Marie J. Kilker | Sarasota, Florida United States | 08/13/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One does not usually get a chance to listen to the Sound (or, in this case, Music) "per se" in a production--certainly not while watching it. When the music is worth listening to in one's home instead of necessarily in the theatre, as Ellen Mandel's is, a CD is a treasure. It helps to know the plays for which the music was written. Although some of it is accompanied by text, without familiarity with the source, that very text May sometimes be hard to make out and distracting from pleasure in the sound. This is a small caveat in the midst of my big recommendation of the enterprise. What I like best are the various cadences and the very skillful performances that seem to come easily. Deceptively so, of course. Take, for example, the sound for "Rough Crossing." It has all the contradictions in Stoppard's characters and the slyness of his satire and parody. Also, one can tell when the Moliere play is in play without observing the sequence in print. The album is one that's best to listen to when some thought is given while listening, although some of the jazzier entries can be enjoyed during complete relaxation. Indeed, they promote same."