Euripides - Andromache, Bacchae, Hippolytus, Medea
from archive.org
The whole collection of audiobooks (mega.nz): https://kutt.it/abmega
Euripides' classic tragedy in a new verse translation and a new, full cast audio production. After Troy fell to the Greeks, Andromache, the wife of the slain Trojan king Hector, was taken as prize and given to Achilles' son Neoptolemus as his concubine. He treated her kindly, and in the fullness of time she bore him a son. But Neoptolemus went on to take as his wife Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus, but she could bear him no children. Enraged with jealousy, Hermione plots the death of Andromache, and the play opens with Andromache taking sanctuary at the temple of Thetis, the goddess who is also Achilles' mother - Achilles, the man who killed her husband.
Often considered as mere political propaganda in the conflict between Athens and Sparta, Andromache showcases Euripides' skill in a vivid and tender portrayal of a powerful woman brought low by fate.
About the author: Euripides was the youngest of the three great dramatists of classical Greece, with Sophocles and Aeschylus being his elders. Born around 484 BC, he authored some 92 plays, of which 19 have survived the ravages of time. Ever the iconoclast, Euripides portrayed the gods as capricious agents of fate, unconcerned towards men or righteousness. Mortals, however, were portrayed with all their innate characteristics, from tenderness to treachery, and on a human scale that set him apart from the heroic and larger than life characters of his contemporaries. This concern for the ordinary man would hold his plays in good stead during the Hellenistic period and even today makes Euripides one of the most accessible playwrights of the ancient world.
About this production: This production of Andromache was recorded at Mirror Sound Studios in Seattle and Voice Trax West studio in Los Angeles in 2012-13, and features some of the best new talent in theater in the Northwest including Sonya Joseph in the title role, Andrew McGinn as Menelaus, Gene Openshaw as Peleus, and Amy Escobar as Hermione. Unlike conventional recordings that use simple left-right panning to create localization of the sound channels, this recording uses synthetic binaural imaging technology to create a surprisingly lifelike sound image of the performance when played using headphones, while still retaining a pleasing stereo image when played through speakers.
(C)2012 Bruce Van Deventer (P)2013 Mondello Publishing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Bacchae is concerned with two opposite sides of human nature: the rational and civilized side, which is represented by the character of Pentheus, the king of Thebes, and the instinctive side, which is represented by Dionysus. This side is sensual without analysis, it feels a connection between man and beast, and it is a potential source of divinity and spiritual power. In Euripides' plays the gods represent various human qualities, allowing the audience to grapple with considerations of the human condition. The Bacchae seems to be saying that it is perilous to deny or ignore the human desire for Dionysian experience; those who are open to the experience will find spiritual power, and those who suppress or repress the desire in themselves or others will transform it into a destructive force.
Public Domain (P)2018 Bassett Publishing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Euripides (c. 480-406 B.C.E.) is the author of eighteen extant plays and many more only surviving in fragments. He is the youngest of the three great Athenian tragedians with Aeschylus and Sophocles.
Hippolytus, bastard son of Theseus and the Amazon Hippolyta, has sworn chaste allegiance to the goddess Artemis, thus severely offending the goddess Aphrodite by failing to revere her. Aphrodite swears revenge and promises that he will die before the day is done, taking with him Queen Phaedra, wife of Theseus. Aphrodite sickens Phaedra with uncontrollable lust for Hippolytus, and when he vehemently spurns her, he sets in motion the events that will seal his doom.
Cast
Aphrodite - P J Morgan
Artemis - Linda Barrans
Hippolytus - Russell Gold
Phaidra -Erin Louttit
Nurse - Lee Ann Howlett
Theseus - John Burlinson
An Old Huntsman - Ron Altman
First huntsman/Messenger - Andy Harrington
Second huntsman - Alan Weyman
Third huntsman - Alan Weyman
Chorus leader - Jennifer Fournier
Chorus One - Leanne Yau
Chorus Two - Elizabeth Chambers
Narrator - Alan Weyman
Public Domain (P)2017 The Online Stage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the "barbarian" kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by murdering Jason's new wife as well as her own children, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life.
Public Domain (P)2018 Combray Media
- Andromache (62.1Mb)
- Bacchae (75.9Mb)
- Hippolytus (49.5Mb)
- Medea (47.4Mb)
MP3 files hosted by archive.org.