Wuthering Heights

Slamming doors. Jangling of keys. The whispery, husky voice of a man on his deathbed. The anguish of a selfish woman realizing her paramour has overheard her lack of faith. The sound effects of this production create a completely absorbing experience. Appropriately haunting pieces of music connect the episodes, and the ensemble cast is perfectly matched to deliver the characters of The Grange and Wuthering Heights. The recording features outstanding performances by Amanda Root as the high-strung, na•ve Cathy and John Duttine as the dark and ultimately cruel Heathcliff. Duttine's masterful scene of Heathcliff's morbid visit to Cathy's grave is psychologically rich and truly chilling. R.F. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Search no further. A masterful vocal talent has found a masterpiece of world literature to perform. Michael Kitchen brilliantly portrays Nelly Dean, the novel's main storyteller, as she, in her clipped Yorkshire dialect, loquaciously divulges to a fascinated Mr. Lockwood the turbulent saga of three generations of Earnshaws and Lintons during their systematic torment by the revenge-sodden and love-ruined Heathcliff. Kitchen's intoxicatingly rich voice is the perfect medium for Bronte's romantic lyricism. Since most of the novel is conversational in nature, much depends on how things are said. Cathy's self-centered impulsiveness, Edgar's resigned acceptance of bitter truths, Heathcliff's damnable obsessions, Hareton's brave attempts to rise above his fate, all and more are revealed by Kitchen's fine characterizations. His interpretation is so precise and intelligent that it's hard not to feel pity for the possessed Heathcliff. Michael Kitchen has given a long-awaited voice to a timeless classic. P.W. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine