Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Macbeth  By  cover art

Macbeth

By: William Shakespeare
Narrated by: Stephen Dillane, Fiona Shaw, full cast
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $11.70

Buy for $11.70

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

By the time Shakespeare came to write Macbeth - almost certainly in 1605/1606 - he had already completed three of the great tragedies with which modern audiences are so familiar: Hamlet (1601), Othello (1603), and King Lear (1605). Each of those plays gives us an eponymous hero who is in some significant way flawed, but for whom we also inevitably feel deep sympathy, whatever his errors or crimes. But in MacBeth, Shakespeare has chosen for his tragic hero a man guilty of the most terrible crime imaginable to a Jacobean audience, that of regicide - the murder of a king.

Part of the writer's triumph is to succeed in making Macbeth, whose crime we must detest, a man in whom we must also see something of our own darker side, our own potential for evil, so that Malcolm's final judgment on him as a mere "butcher" seems wholly inadequate, the verdict of someone who does not share the audience's insight into Macbeth's anguished inner world.

Now sit back and enjoy this lively performance, featuring the voices of award-winning actors Stephen Dillane (Macbeth) and Fiona Shaw (Lady Macbeth), accompanied by a full cast.

Public Domain (P)1998 Naxos Audiobooks

What listeners say about Macbeth

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fire burn and cauldron bubble - an excellent stew

A most worthwhile rendition of Macbeth. The voices are expressive and clear, without milking the emotions. The narrative flows well. The technical quality is good, with the very occasional exception of some bit players, where the voices are muted, for example that of the third witch. All in all, a rollicking tale of gore and guts to gladden the hearts of Quentin Taratino fans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Hoping for Enhanced Format

If this title becomes available in the enhanced format, it will probably dispel the concerns many have expressed about the sound quality. I've listened to this on the original CDs and as an Audible format 4 download, and the difference in clarity is an eye-opener. The third witch, as several people have commented, is inaudible in the download; it has something to do with the conversion of a complex stereo design to mono. In stereo, all witches are clearly audible and the background noises and music are clearly separated from the voices.

It's a particular shame with this title, because Fiona Shaw's vision of Macbeth (she directed it, as well as playing Lady Macbeth) is haunting, almost hallucinatory. It is by far one of the most ambitious and brilliantly-realized audiobooks of a Shakespeare play available. If it does become available as an enhanced-format download, I would urge anyone who tried it before, and rejected it, to give it another try.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

mixed results

The dynamics of the sound in this recording are dismal. The performance of Lady MacBeth is superb! The performance of MacBeth himself is extremely uneven, to say it as politely as possible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Water, Water, Everywhere

Too many bells and whistles. The quality of ambience should not be so strained. The relentless thematic use of water noise - dripping, decanting, gurgling, splashing, washing, raining - threatened to drown the very strut and fret of this finest of plays.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

the quality could be better

You can bearly hear one of the witches, and they don't sound like witches enough to suit me. The preference of the witches' dramatization may be nit-picky, but the complaint about not being able to hear one of them is serious. And that's kind of a problem for me, since they're one of my favorite parts of the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Bad experience

I was looking forward to a good rendition of Macbeth to listen to in my car, but this one leaves you confused at best. Acts and scenes are not announced, so you don't really know what is going on; difficult to figure out which character is which - if you pile on the Shakespearean era English and occasional poor sonics, it makes for a dissatisfying experience.

Save your money.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The emotion and drama in the reading.

This was an outstanding reading of a classic. The performances bring the words to life and make this so much more than words on a page. Highly recommend

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hard to understand

This is the first time I read or heard Macbeth didn't know anything about the story, except that is is from Shakespeare and it was really hard to understand what was going on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great cast!

Great audio dramatization of one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Phenomenal cast, especially Stephen Dillane

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Solid

This definitely helped my students. There was weird breathing through, but not a bad performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!