ABUNDANCE

Engaged to the 15-year-old dauphin, 'Toinette, the high-spirited 14-year-old daughter of the empress of Austria, arrives in France with enthusiasm for new sights, sounds, and the French people who welcome her. Susanna Burney uses an elevated pitch and fast pace to convey this naïve excitement. By the age of 16, Marie Antoinette, still unbedded and better schooled on political etiquette, has matured, and Burney marks the change by adopting a lower timbre and more moderate tempo. Burney also dramatizes the young queen's growing pleasure in earthly delights and her surprise at the displeasure of the French populace. As the end approaches, Burney's calm voice portrays a woman who has accepted a violent death. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]