-
Gilbert and Sullivan: Opera Explained
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Gilbert and Sullivan: Opera Explained
Buy for $9.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Mozart: Così Fan Tutte
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Così Fan Tutte contains some of Mozart’s most sublime music. On one level, the opera is purely a social anecdote about young people falling in and out of love; but Mozart was a supreme sensualist and a great humanist, and invested the tale with all his understanding of humanity and young love. In this title, David Timson refutes the charge that Mozart squandered his genius on a work full of trivial nonsense and proves this "miraculous yet problematic" opera to be a great work of theatre. To listen to this thought-provoking examination of the characters and the music is both thoroughly enriching and great fun.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
especially fun before a performance
- By EmilyK on 03-11-18
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Falstaff
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6
Verdi’s Falstaff repays careful study with real pleasure. It is opera’s happiest irony that the great Italian master should cap a career - distinguished for its blood-and-thunder tragic masterpieces - with the greatest comic opera in the Italian repertory. The genius of Shakespeare is harnessed (in a miracle of compression) by master-librettist Boito to give the 80-year-old Verdi a superb libretto, on which he lavished more wonderful tunes than most composers manage in a lifetime.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
La sonnambula
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
La sonnambula was written by Bellini as a vehicle for two of the supreme singers of his age and accordingly is a fine example of the school we call bel canto, where beauty of voice and the virtuosity of the singers is integral to conveying the emotions in the soul of the composer. The fact that Bellini was one of the great melodists, writing long, beautiful vocal lines, that he was a master orchestrator and that he could write stirringly for the chorus all conspire to make La sonnambula extremely enjoyable.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Tancredi
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 3
Rossini’s comic operas, like The Barber of Seville, are better known than his tragedies though he wrote in fact many more tragedies than comedies. One of them, his last, William Tell, is actually credited with launching the whole age of Grand Opéra. Tancredi is an early work - indeed his first smash hit - and it established his international fame.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Pelleas et Melisande
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
Dating from the last decade of the 19th century, Pelléas et Mélisande points the way into the 20th century. The score is hauntingly beautiful, but there is more to the work than shifting panels of elusive, impressionistic sound. Debussy retains the text of Maeterlinck’s play, and the linguistic subtleties of the French text are matched perfectly by the musical detail. Taking a little time to explore the romantic, elusive world of this opera is particularly rewarding.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Il Trovatore
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Il Trovatore has been ruthlessly parodied. It is a tale of murder and mayhem, burned babies, roasted hags, would-be nuns, strolling minstrels, and bad baritones. And indeed the libretto does call for a willing suspension of disbelief. The reward is in the music, a score as prodigally melodic as only the mature Verdi could write: the "Anvil" chorus, the "Miserere" scene, two great tenor arias, a beautiful baritone aria - a richness without embarrassment.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Mozart: Così Fan Tutte
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Così Fan Tutte contains some of Mozart’s most sublime music. On one level, the opera is purely a social anecdote about young people falling in and out of love; but Mozart was a supreme sensualist and a great humanist, and invested the tale with all his understanding of humanity and young love. In this title, David Timson refutes the charge that Mozart squandered his genius on a work full of trivial nonsense and proves this "miraculous yet problematic" opera to be a great work of theatre. To listen to this thought-provoking examination of the characters and the music is both thoroughly enriching and great fun.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
especially fun before a performance
- By EmilyK on 03-11-18
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Falstaff
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6
Verdi’s Falstaff repays careful study with real pleasure. It is opera’s happiest irony that the great Italian master should cap a career - distinguished for its blood-and-thunder tragic masterpieces - with the greatest comic opera in the Italian repertory. The genius of Shakespeare is harnessed (in a miracle of compression) by master-librettist Boito to give the 80-year-old Verdi a superb libretto, on which he lavished more wonderful tunes than most composers manage in a lifetime.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
La sonnambula
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
La sonnambula was written by Bellini as a vehicle for two of the supreme singers of his age and accordingly is a fine example of the school we call bel canto, where beauty of voice and the virtuosity of the singers is integral to conveying the emotions in the soul of the composer. The fact that Bellini was one of the great melodists, writing long, beautiful vocal lines, that he was a master orchestrator and that he could write stirringly for the chorus all conspire to make La sonnambula extremely enjoyable.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Tancredi
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 3
Rossini’s comic operas, like The Barber of Seville, are better known than his tragedies though he wrote in fact many more tragedies than comedies. One of them, his last, William Tell, is actually credited with launching the whole age of Grand Opéra. Tancredi is an early work - indeed his first smash hit - and it established his international fame.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Pelleas et Melisande
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
Dating from the last decade of the 19th century, Pelléas et Mélisande points the way into the 20th century. The score is hauntingly beautiful, but there is more to the work than shifting panels of elusive, impressionistic sound. Debussy retains the text of Maeterlinck’s play, and the linguistic subtleties of the French text are matched perfectly by the musical detail. Taking a little time to explore the romantic, elusive world of this opera is particularly rewarding.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Il Trovatore
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Il Trovatore has been ruthlessly parodied. It is a tale of murder and mayhem, burned babies, roasted hags, would-be nuns, strolling minstrels, and bad baritones. And indeed the libretto does call for a willing suspension of disbelief. The reward is in the music, a score as prodigally melodic as only the mature Verdi could write: the "Anvil" chorus, the "Miserere" scene, two great tenor arias, a beautiful baritone aria - a richness without embarrassment.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Die Fledermaus
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 9
Die Fledermaus is one of the few operatic works to which the phrase "never a dull moment" can be truthfully applied. From the explosive opening of the famous overture - reminiscent of a volley of champagne corks - through the surging energy of the "Fledermaus Waltz" and the many comic numbers, of which the accelerando trio is the finest, up to such huge concerted numbers as the "Duidu" finale to Act II, this is an operetta which almost incarnates nostalgia. Thomson Smillie and David Timson infuse their exploration of Die Fledermaus with as much life as the operetta itself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Revenge of the bat
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-08-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 1 min
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Pagliacci may be the most completely compelling short opera in the repertory and owes much of its impact to a brilliant story based, it is said, on true life and told through the device of a play-within-a-play. The action is set in Calabria in the deep south of Italy where the jealousies and illicit passions of a troupe of strolling actors precisely intersect with the play they are performing - to both touching and tragic effect.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Fidelio
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 9
Fidelio is a work like no other. Beethoven’s only opera is about the joy of married love - by a man who never knew that pleasure. It is about heroism by a man who was often mean and petty in his human relations; it is about freedom by a man who was a prisoner of his own deafness; and ultimately it is about joy by a man who experienced precious little of it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beethoven's only opera in all its glory
- By Adeliese Baumann on 04-20-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Orfeo: Opera Explained
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Monteverdi’s Orfeo, first performed in 1607, generates a special excitement because it is the first unquestioned masterpiece of opera. Notable for its precise orchestration and powerful drama it was a groundbreaking work. It concerns the legend of Orpheus, the demigod whose music had the power to conquer the forces of Hell and to bring his wife back, briefly, to life. The extracts used in this introduction are from Naxos’ full recording; it uses authentic period instruments, which serve to evoke the early Baroque period of the opera’s composition.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Cavalleria Rusticana
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Cavalleria rusticana is the short opera that has all the elements of a grand opera compressed into a single highly dramatic time span. The story of love, lust, blood-feud, and betrayal played out against the pageantry of the Easter celebrations in a Sicilian village delivers an emotional wallop because of the youthful vigor and musical wealth of its great score which includes the glorious "Easter Hymn" and the deeply moving "Intermezzo". Mascagni was never to repeat his youthful success but this brief work is enough to ensure his immortality.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoy the opera as it was meant to be
- By Essam on 04-05-15
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Mozart: The Magic Flute
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
The Magic Flute almost defines a masterpiece, because it can be enjoyed on every level. It is a superb fairy story, complete with dragons, demons, a handsome prince, and a lovely maiden seriously in need of rescue; it is a political satire, social commentary, and psychological drama; it is full of tunes from the playful to the heart-stopping, jolly songs, and deeply spiritual outpourings. It is, in short, "Mozart" - and there is no greater compliment than that.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
The sublime and the ridiculous
- By Adeliese Baumann on 04-19-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Carmen
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
Carmen is among the most popular operas for all the obvious reasons: great characters, a gripping story, and fabulous music. But what sets it on a pinnacle is an amazing combination of three factors: a sizzling Gipsy heroine (one of the most psychologically complex and compelling characters in all theatre), great atmosphere (Spain, hot sun, the bull-ring), and the prodigality of melodic invention - one great tune after another, at least a dozen of which are the staples of Madison Avenue and the animated cartoon.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Passion, power, and truth
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-08-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
The Flying Dutchman
- Opera Explained
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
The Flying Dutchman is the perfect opera with which to approach the operatic mountain that is Richard Wagner. It is short, has a great story (the legend of the Dutch captain doomed to sail forever unless redeemed through love), and the striking score has many pre-echoes of Wagner's later great music dramas. It contains wonderful tunes in its arias, ensembles, and big choruses, and the orchestral writing - from the gale that blows out of the Overture to the final theme of "Redemption through Love" - will "blow you away".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An introduction to Wagner
- By Adeliese Baumann on 02-06-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Don Giovanni
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
Don Giovanni has long been regarded as Mozart’s supreme theatrical achievement. The subject seems unpromising - the last day in the life of the notorious womanizer Don Juan - but the skill of the librettist allied to the genius of Mozart at the very peak of his powers has created a work which is not only highly entertaining but reflects an incredible understanding of the human condition.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very short introductions to specific operas!
- By Doggy Bird on 02-09-14
By: Thomson Smillie
-
La Traviata
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
La Traviata owes its enduring popularity to a superb story of young love and fatal sacrifice, set to music by Italy’s master melodist at the peak of his powers. Interest and poignancy are added by the fact that this is a true story - the baritone ‘heavy’ is Alexander Dumas who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo. But it is the central figure, the heroine Violetta, the archetypal ‘whore with the heart of gold’ who dominates the piece. It is her opera and we love her for it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb Synopsis
- By opera4steph on 02-04-21
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Rigoletto
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Rigoletto is simply wonderful entertainment with superb music. It is also much more - a daring (for its time) attack on aristocratic privilege, a tender love story, and an impassioned appeal on behalf of the disadvantaged, all set to music of such wealth and beauty that, with its sister operas La traviata and Il trovatore, it has defined Italian opera for 150 years. Overcoming initial trouble with the censors, Verdi's Rigoletto was a smash hit at its premiere and has not been out of the repertoire since. It’s not hard to see why.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fun intro (or recap) of the opera
- By EmilyK on 05-24-18
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Aida
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
Ancient Egypt and the war with Ethiopia is the setting for Verdi’s grandest opera. It is the story of the love between Rhadames, the Egyptian general, and Aida, an Ethiopian slave, and the jealousy of Amneris, daughter of the King of Egypt. It was written in 1871 to a commission from the Khedive of Egypt to inaugurate the new opera house in Cairo. Aida generally is considered one of the most spectacular of Verdi’s operas.
By: Thomson Smillie
Editorial reviews
Master narrator and theater historian David Timson delivers this story, which is augmented by the stirring music created by Gilbert and Sullivan. With an authoritative tone, Timson delivers an energetic rendering of the behind-the-scenes drama about the team who created the classic operas. Timson brings a palatable joy to his performance as well as a depth of clarity about the subjects. Listeners who are fans of Gilbert and Sullivan will relish Timson's guidance through the history of their creative process and popularity.
Publisher's summary
This audio-biography sets out to explain the timeless popularity of the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan: a colorful partnership of the most successful writers in the history of light music. It highlights Gilbert’s mastery of language - his wit, his turn of phrase, his brilliant lyrics (alternately very funny and deeply moving) - and the special melodic gift which enabled Arthur Sullivan to write music of such beauty and style. While each was a master of his craft, it was the combination that created magic sparks and guaranteed Gilbert and Sullivan a place in musical history.
More from the same
Author
Narrator
Related to this topic
-
Born a Crime
- Stories from a South African Childhood
- By: Trevor Noah
- Narrated by: Trevor Noah
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 213,753
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 193,402
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 192,431
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book and perfect narration
- By MarilynArms on 12-15-16
By: Trevor Noah
-
Under the Bridge
- By: Rebecca Godfrey
- Narrated by: Rebecca Godfrey, Erin Moon, Mary Gaitskill - introduction
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 144
One moonlit night, 14-year-old Reena Virk went to join friends at a party and never returned home. In this “tour de force of crime reportage” (Kirkus Reviews), acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey takes us into the hidden world of the seven teenage girls - and boy - accused of a savage murder. As she follows the investigation and trials, Godfrey reveals the startling truth about the unlikely killers. Laced with lyricism and insight, Under the Bridge is an unforgettable look at a haunting modern tragedy.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Powerful Account of 8 Young Teens Killing Another
- By Mary Burnight on 08-16-19
By: Rebecca Godfrey
-
Chasing Boaz Manor
- By: Leah McLaren
- Narrated by: Serinda Swan
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Boaz Manor was a finance wunderkind. He started a hedge-fund company in Canada and later burst onto Wall Street with a product that could transform the crypto market. By all accounts, he was incredibly hard-working. Possibly brilliant. And...a shameless con man who ended up wanted in multiple countries. Chasing Boaz Manor explores Boaz’s schemes through the perspective of those he left in his wake.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great storyline
- By Josh on 06-02-24
By: Leah McLaren
-
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
- A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
- By: Lori Gottlieb
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42,802
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 37,676
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37,539
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
It was like a hallmark movie being waterboarded into my ears for 15 hours
- By Amazon Customer on 10-01-19
By: Lori Gottlieb
-
Letters from Guantánamo
- By: Mansoor Adayfi, Antonio Aiello
- Narrated by: Mansoor Adayfi, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Elias Khalil, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
In weeks after the September 11 attacks, 18-year-old Mansoor Adayfi was kidnapped by Afghan militia and sold to US forces for bounty money. After months of interrogations, he was sent to the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as one of its first prisoners. Like the nearly 800 other men imprisoned at Guantanamo, Adayfi didn’t know why he was imprisoned or for how long. He had never seen a skyscraper and couldn’t imagine what the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center looked like, much less how they were destroyed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The truth of it all
- By Kathy Jordan on 05-23-24
By: Mansoor Adayfi, and others
-
Third Girl from the Left
- By: Christine Barker
- Narrated by: Betsy Struxness
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
Wanting to be a dancer while growing up in a large military family made Christine Barker somewhat of a black sheep, but she followed her dreams to New York City, where—in a moment of almost unbelievable good fortune—she was chosen for the London cast of A Chorus Line. London, and then New York, in the '70s and '80s opened up Christine’s world. The creativity, culture, and nightlife were intoxicating, enough so to compel her older brother Laughlin to join her. Once there, the divorced father, veteran, and corporate lawyer met rising fashion star Perry Ellis.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Dancer’s Dream Told with Heart
- By Kathy MacKay on 05-17-23
By: Christine Barker
-
Born a Crime
- Stories from a South African Childhood
- By: Trevor Noah
- Narrated by: Trevor Noah
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 213,753
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 193,402
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 192,431
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book and perfect narration
- By MarilynArms on 12-15-16
By: Trevor Noah
-
Under the Bridge
- By: Rebecca Godfrey
- Narrated by: Rebecca Godfrey, Erin Moon, Mary Gaitskill - introduction
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 144
One moonlit night, 14-year-old Reena Virk went to join friends at a party and never returned home. In this “tour de force of crime reportage” (Kirkus Reviews), acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey takes us into the hidden world of the seven teenage girls - and boy - accused of a savage murder. As she follows the investigation and trials, Godfrey reveals the startling truth about the unlikely killers. Laced with lyricism and insight, Under the Bridge is an unforgettable look at a haunting modern tragedy.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Powerful Account of 8 Young Teens Killing Another
- By Mary Burnight on 08-16-19
By: Rebecca Godfrey
-
Chasing Boaz Manor
- By: Leah McLaren
- Narrated by: Serinda Swan
- Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Boaz Manor was a finance wunderkind. He started a hedge-fund company in Canada and later burst onto Wall Street with a product that could transform the crypto market. By all accounts, he was incredibly hard-working. Possibly brilliant. And...a shameless con man who ended up wanted in multiple countries. Chasing Boaz Manor explores Boaz’s schemes through the perspective of those he left in his wake.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great storyline
- By Josh on 06-02-24
By: Leah McLaren
-
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
- A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
- By: Lori Gottlieb
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42,802
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 37,676
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37,539
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
It was like a hallmark movie being waterboarded into my ears for 15 hours
- By Amazon Customer on 10-01-19
By: Lori Gottlieb
-
Letters from Guantánamo
- By: Mansoor Adayfi, Antonio Aiello
- Narrated by: Mansoor Adayfi, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Elias Khalil, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
In weeks after the September 11 attacks, 18-year-old Mansoor Adayfi was kidnapped by Afghan militia and sold to US forces for bounty money. After months of interrogations, he was sent to the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as one of its first prisoners. Like the nearly 800 other men imprisoned at Guantanamo, Adayfi didn’t know why he was imprisoned or for how long. He had never seen a skyscraper and couldn’t imagine what the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center looked like, much less how they were destroyed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The truth of it all
- By Kathy Jordan on 05-23-24
By: Mansoor Adayfi, and others
-
Third Girl from the Left
- By: Christine Barker
- Narrated by: Betsy Struxness
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
Wanting to be a dancer while growing up in a large military family made Christine Barker somewhat of a black sheep, but she followed her dreams to New York City, where—in a moment of almost unbelievable good fortune—she was chosen for the London cast of A Chorus Line. London, and then New York, in the '70s and '80s opened up Christine’s world. The creativity, culture, and nightlife were intoxicating, enough so to compel her older brother Laughlin to join her. Once there, the divorced father, veteran, and corporate lawyer met rising fashion star Perry Ellis.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Dancer’s Dream Told with Heart
- By Kathy MacKay on 05-17-23
By: Christine Barker
-
Going Infinite
- The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,819
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,646
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,644
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side? In Going Infinite Lewis sets out to answer this question, taking listeners into the mind of Bankman-Fried.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
- By Wowhello on 10-04-23
By: Michael Lewis
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,713
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,299
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,295
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
-
Exposed
- The Ashley Madison Hack
- By: Sophie Elmhirst, Maria Luisa Tucker
- Narrated by: Sophie Nélisse
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 800
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 775
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 775
Millions of people–looking to cheat on their partners–signed up for Ashley Madison in the early 2000s, seeking a private space to share their public desires. The promise of discretion was shattered in the summer of 2015, when anonymous hackers stole the company’s cache of user information and published it worldwide. The result? One of the most shocking data breaches of the internet age. Overnight, millions of unfaithful spouses had their real names, addresses and sexual preferences published online in a searchable database that anyone could browse.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Hard to feel sorry for the cheaters
- By Kim Kormylo on 02-21-24
By: Sophie Elmhirst, and others
-
Evil Has a Name
- The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation
- By: Paul Holes, Jim Clemente, Peter McDonnell
- Narrated by: Paul Holes, Jim Clemente
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21,212
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19,071
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18,974
For his victims, for their families and for the investigators tasked with finding him, the senselessness and brutality of the Golden State Killer's acts were matched only by the powerlessness they felt at failing to uncover his identity. Then, on April 24, 2018, authorities arrested 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo at his home in Citrus Heights, Calif., based on DNA evidence linked to the crimes. Amazingly, it seemed, evil finally had a name. Please note: This work contains descriptions of violent crime and sexual assault and may not be suitable for all listeners.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Audible Raises The Bar On True Crime Genre
- By R. Squyres on 11-16-18
By: Paul Holes, and others
-
Trace of Doubt
- By: Samantha Weinberg
- Narrated by: Samantha Weinberg
- Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,403
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,377
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,377
In the summer of 1985, a brilliant young British DNA scientist Helena Greenwood is found murdered in her front garden in a quiet suburb in California. The police believe they know the killer’s identity but there’s no evidence against him, and the only thing linking him to the crime is the fact he’d been charged with sexually assaulting Helena just a few months previously.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Frustrating
- By Amazon Customer on 01-28-24
-
The Demon Next Door
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: Steve White
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 30,746
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 27,534
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 27,426
Best-selling author Bryan Burrough recently made a shocking discovery: The small town of Temple, Texas, where he had grown up, had harbored a dark secret. One of his high school classmates, Danny Corwin, was a vicious serial killer. In this chilling tale, Burrough raises important questions of whether serial killers can be recognized before they kill or rehabilitated after they do. It is also a story of Texas politics and power that led the good citizens of the town of Temple to enable a demon who was their worst nightmare.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Odd narration choice
- By Amanda Fredericks on 03-08-19
By: Bryan Burrough
-
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 12,134
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10,789
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10,729
Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
-
Sorry for Your Loss
- By: Michael Cruz Kayne
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,230
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,143
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,141
A sidesplitting, heartrending look at life—and death. This powerfully personal production, recorded live from the Minetta Lane Theatre, cuts through the platitudes, directly reaching out to anyone who has ever experienced loss—or will. So...everyone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Must Listen for the Grieving
- By Chris on 09-25-23
-
Elvis and Me
- By: Priscilla Beaulieu Presley
- Narrated by: Priscilla Beaulieu Presley
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,061
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,766
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,759
The inspiration for the major motion picture Priscilla directed by Sofia Coppola, this New York Times best seller reveals the intimate story of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, told by the woman who lived it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What a story!
- By Pen Name on 08-28-22
-
The Meaning of Mariah Carey
- By: Mariah Carey
- Narrated by: Mariah Carey
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 13,015
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 11,526
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 11,480
It took me a lifetime to have the courage and the clarity to write my memoir. I want to tell the story of the moments - the ups and downs, the triumphs and traumas, the debacles and the dreams - that contributed to the person I am today. This book is composed of my memories, my mishaps, my struggles, my survival, and my songs. Unfiltered. I went deep into my childhood and gave the scared little girl inside of me a big voice. I let the abandoned and ambitious adolescent have her say, and the betrayed and triumphant woman I became tell her side.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining glitz glam smoke and mirrors - not the whole story.
- By Anonymous User on 10-04-20
By: Mariah Carey
-
The Debutante
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,360
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,128
Thirty years ago, award-winning journalist Jon Ronson stumbled on the mystery of Carol Howe—a charismatic, wealthy former debutante turned white supremacist spokeswoman turned undercover informant. In 1995, Carol was spying on Oklahoma’s neo-Nazis for the government just when Timothy McVeigh blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting but not compelling
- By Gail Jester on 04-15-23
By: Jon Ronson
-
Family of Secrets
- The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America
- By: Russ Baker
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 24 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 703
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 611
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 609
French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre said that "words are loaded pistols". In the hands of Russ Baker, they are hydrogen bombs. On each and every page of his masterpiece, Family of Secrets, he explodes the myths and lies that powerful forces have perpetrated on the American consciousness. He digs beneath the surface in a form of journalistic archeology to reveal the hidden history of one of America's most powerful families, leaving no stone unturned.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Still Relevant, Impossible to Put Down
- By Emilio Largo on 12-14-12
By: Russ Baker
Love Books? You'll Love Audible.
Transform your day
Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.
Listen everywhere
Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.
Carry your entire Library
Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.
Listen and learn
Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.
Reach your reading goals
You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.
Find your niche
WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.