Dakota Beacon

This week marked the 456th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.  

The genius of Shakespeare has never dimmed in these four-and-a-half centuries, a truly remarkable phenomenon.  Shakepeare wrote of the human condition - of frustrated or ill-starred lovers, dastardly plots, heroic figures brought to life from the pages of history, earthy and witty humor - and his eloquence and insight stood him in good stead, rendering his works unbounded by time or place.  

Over these centuries his plays have been renewed again and again by the greatest performers of their time and his themes have inspired great music as well.  Everyone seems to have a favorite character and a favorite player of the role, and every actor dreams of playing his favorite.  Hamlet has inspired many of our greatest  actors.  

We have:

“Hamlet” played by Sir Laurence Olivier - a classic performance (1948)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiWf4I6bOcA

“Hamlet”, this time played by Kenneth Brannagh, from his own production  (1996)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjuZq-8PUw0

“Hamlet” á la Mel Gibson (1990)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei0fnP9s0KA

“Hamlet” as played by David Tennant (2009)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZHb2xo0OI

“Hamlet” by Kevin Kline 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jj6zLIzoNs

“Hamlet” - a stark and minimalist version  - Richard Burton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsrOXAY1arg

. . . and from the morose to the triumphant:

Mark Rylance as Henry V:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOouofFFrZE

A rare Henry V

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35d7b6irF-A

Here is Olivier as Henry V

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk_rPHoSc8w

And Kenneth Branagh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM

And Burton:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU7NrnLsr5g&t=53s

Is Shakespeare timeless?  You tell me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHYeDqEngxU

Shakespeare also created some poignant and beautiful moments in comedy:  Here Kevin Kline portrays Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llDzj7hIG38

Emma Thompson reads one of his sonnets at the opening of Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xVDyi4Wprg

And her counterpart, Benedick, played by Kenneth Branagh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yk_QqPFOWU

Another sonnet, recalled by a heartbroken Mary Ann, played by Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WOFLpmDbIs

Shakespeare’s words have inspired great music!  From Grand Opera to the movies to the ballet, the great composers have found their greatest inspiration in the characters first drawn by Shakespeare - Verdi, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Purcell, Mendelssohn and modern film composers such as Nino Rota, Patrick Doyle, 

Arch-villain Iago (Verdi - Otello) sung by Dmitri Hvorostovsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh6WZOgBHQg

Nureyeve and Fonteyn dance the Balcony Scene in Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtBRN5BXt6o&list=TLPQMjYwNDIwMjB8zjNbmZlISg&index=4

Here is how Shakespeare’s innocent and tragic herioine, Desdemona, was heard by Rossini:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFaipt5kgpE

Mendelssohn’s” Overture from incidental  music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQvbhuinbEQ

Some music from the movie, The Merchant of Venice - Jocelyn Pook:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNeOImbttlg

Andre Rieu’s rendition of Nino Rota’s Love Theme from Zefirelli’s Romeo and Juliet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEVGLXVhhns

And Tchaikovsky’s idea of Romeo and Juliet’s love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIGyCuZ9V-w

Patrick Doyle wrote a powerful score for Branagh’s Henry V.  Here is Non Nobis Domine form that movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXXuEel0fU&t=289s

Here we return to the spoken word - this time Sir Laurence Olivier portrays pure evil as Richard III (creepy!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDxnXgYPnKg

And finally - I couldn’t resist - here is how those whom Shakespeare inspired have inspired yet others.  Peter Sellers was obviously impressed by Olivier’s Richard III (even more creepy):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLEMncv140s

Hope you enjoyed this all-too-brief look at Shakespeare’s characters and the art they have inspired. ‘Til next time, a hey nonny no!

:

Comments:  (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)