''Much Ado'', Bernard J. Taylor's musical version of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', was recorded as a concept album in 1995, featuring Paul McGann, Peter Karrie and other West End stars. It received its world premiere at Stratford-on-Avon in 1996. It was partly inspired by the

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

film version. The most recent production was in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, opening in June 2007. Terry Wardrope, critic for the European musicals magazine ''Words and Music'', wrote: "The usual fine cast once again give full throat to a grand selection of songs. One of the strongest facets of Mr Taylor's musical talents I have found is his ability to write music in the style befitting the age his work is set, as MUCH ADO so admirably demonstrates. Paul McGann's singing voice adds style. and panache to his solo numbers (If I Could Write A Sonnet and The Strange Affliction Called Love) as well as a pleasing accompaniment to the redoubtable Claire Moore In Disdain" and Then Kill For Me. Of course, as always Claire Moore gives a breathtaking performance with (among others) I'll Never Marry and How Can This Be, but then that lady can do no wrong in my book. It's another impressive piece from Bernard Taylor, reinforcing my impression that he is one of the finest British musical talents we have." Mike Gibb, editor of ''Masquerade'', the British musicals review magazine, wrote: "It proves to be yet another fine slab of musical writing, full of invention and, as with all BJT offerings, dripping with melody. It also succeeds in capturing the mood of the period courtesy of a medieval English feel amongst the diverse musical influences. Paul McGann and Simon Burke must have been delighted with the quality of the material they were offered with the likes of I'll Never Love Again and If I Could Write A Sonnet - both grade 'A' Taylor ballads - gentle, flowing, melodious."

External links

Bernard J. Taylor's websiteHungarian report

Hungarian review

Hungarian translator's website

*

References

Bronte archives
Larkin, Colin; John Martland (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Stage and Film Musicals. London: Virgin in association with Muze UK Ltd. .
Bernard J. Taylor's websiteHungarian report

Hungarian review

Hungarian translator's website

* {{Much Ado About Nothing 1995 musicals Works based on Much Ado About Nothing