THE CANTERBURY TALES

Even with only five tales (not including the Prologue), this production includes a good mix of the stately and the satirical in Chaucer's masterpiece. Classical actor Edward de Souza delivers the "Knight's Tale" with appropriate nobility, while Anthony Donovan injects levity into the bawdy "Miller's Tale." In a similar pairing of opposites, the "Merchant's Tale" and the "Franklin's Tale" present contrasting views on marriage, though it might have been nice to include one of the tales narrated by women. Nonetheless, all six readers are sensitive to the rhythm and rhyme of the translation, and the interludes of medieval music also add a splash of flavor. D.B. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 00]