Audiobook · read by volunteers
Much Ado About Nothing
William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
Read by Laurie Anne Walden, Kristin Hughes (1974-2021), Christie Nowak, Karen Savage, Janice, Lizzie Driver, Elizabeth Klett, Caliban, Josh Wilson, David O'Connell · 6 chapters · 2 h 16
About the book
In Messina, the war is over and the soldiers are home. Young Claudio, fresh from battle, falls in love with Hero, the gentle daughter of the governor Leonato, and the match is quickly arranged. Meanwhile Hero’s witty cousin Beatrice and the confirmed bachelor Benedick trade insults whenever they meet, and their friends decide that the two sharp tongues might be better matched than they suppose. Add a villain with a grudge and the confusions of a night watch, and the stage is set for a comedy of schemes, tricks and misunderstandings. Much Ado About Nothing is among Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, with some of his sharpest and funniest dialogue. In this recording, the play is read in six parts by LibriVox volunteers. It is a sparkling comedy about love, wit and mistaken identity.
Introduction
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is thought to have written Much Ado About Nothing around 1598 or 1599, in the middle of his career, and the play was printed in 1600. It belongs to the group of festive comedies that includes As You Like It and Twelfth Night, in which love, disguise and wit drive the plot.
The recording begins with the list of characters and then follows the play act by act. Beatrice and Benedick, whose quarrelsome courtship is the most famous element of the comedy, have become models for countless later pairs in romantic comedy. The story also contains darker moments, because false accusations and slander threaten to ruin the happiness of the young lovers. Yet the tone remains playful, and the language, a mixture of prose and verse, is very quick and very modern in its humour.
Since the play is meant to be heard, a recording is a natural way to enjoy it. Listeners new to Shakespeare will find the plot easy to follow and the jokes still land, while those who know it well may relish the chance to hear familiar lines in new voices.
Six recordings, about 2.3 hours in all: the list of characters, then one recording for each of the five acts. The play is performed by a cast of LibriVox volunteers, each taking a role, so it sounds closer to a radio drama than to a single narrator’s reading, and the quick exchanges between Beatrice and Benedick gain from being spoken by two different voices. It is an easy play to follow by ear, even for listeners who are meeting it for the first time.
Public domain
William Shakespeare died in 1616: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text