A legendary actor with what might have been the most expressive, musical voice in the modern English theater – “a silver trumpet muffled in silk,” in the words of Sir Alec Guinness – Sir John Gielgud had enduring success with his one-man Shakespearean evening Ages of Man. This tour de force, in which he toured for twenty years, would win him Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards. Gielgud selected excerpts from Shakespeare’s texts that dramatized the complete arc of human experience, from life to death – an unforgettable poetic journey. This recording was made after the show’s triumphant, Tony-winning
Broadway debut in 1959, when Gielgud was in his artistic prime. Ages of Man, available for the first time on CD, will be released exclusively for purchase via MasterworksBroadway.com on June 16 in a limited quantity of Manufacture-On-Demand CDs as well as digital download. The CD will be available through Arkiv Music on July 13, plus streaming and downloads via digital service providers the same day.