JULIET'S NURSE

In Shakespeare’s play, all we know of the world’s most famous star-crossed lovers happens over a period of five days. Lois Leveen’s imaginative retelling covers all the years before—from the nurse’s point of view. Nicola Barber delights with her full-bodied, earthy performance of Angelica and her lusty husband, Pietro. When Angelica’s baby daughter dies in childbirth, Friar Lorenzo helps her become live-in wet nurse to the Cappaletta’s newborn girl. Angelica becomes irrationally devoted to Juliet, convinced that she’s truly her baby, switched at birth. Barber portrays aged Lord Cappaletta’s disappointment at not having a son and is convincing as Lady Cappaletta is driven to the edge of madness. She handles Elizabethan morés, beekeeping secrets, and hot-blooded teens engaged in an ancient feud with quicksilver vocal shifts. Wonderful listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2014]