The Oresteia

This production is based on the Ian Johnston translation and is produced by Yuri Rasovsky. I'm partial to Johnston's work: he also did the outstanding verse translations of Homer recently recorded by Naxos (and available on Audible). This is more than a simple "staged reading." Rasovsky, an old hand at audio theater, pulls out the stops: music and sound effects are used throughout, and I found the choruses, always a dilemma in modern stagings of Greek drama, especially effective. (Oh, and the acting is pretty good too!) Well done, moving, and consistently interesting.

Aeschylus' ability to weave and connect his tragedies seems second nature in today's world of sequels, trilogies, and Star Wars prequels, but Aescheylus' genius existed both in the original form and the brilliant substance of his surviving plays. I can understand how Swinburne could call the Oresteia trilogy the "greatest spiritual work of man." The Oresteia is at once brilliant, creepy, and infinitely tragic (only family dramas can be so damn full of pathos). As I was reading it, I was constantly thinking of the influences the Oresteia had on everyone from Shakespeare (think Lady Macbeth) to our current crop of TV police procedurals.

This is a very good reading of the plays - the director uses lots of music and sound to the reading to give it the feeling of a full performance. The translation is engaging and contemporary. Some of the actors are a bit hammy and seem to enjoy the sound of their own voices too much, but otherwise this does a great job of communicating the power of the plays.

This is a fine idiomatic translation that is almost poetic. (Could have been better, but no complaints.)
The production and audio quality are both excellent, and I agree wholeheartedly with another reviewer who commended its handling of the choruses.
Sadly, however, all of the above are grievously marred by typically vain and unsophisticated American actors. (This, coming from an American.)
There is very little subtlety here, and at least two of the actors (male) were in way over their head and had neither the attention span nor the spiritual refinement to succeed here.
All-in-all though, recommended. Just grin and bear it.