We may all know this piece, but to see the effect of this music on everyone from royalty to below-stairs staff lends insight into the music we could obtain no other way.The acting is awesome - there is a bit done by Timothy Piggott-Smith (Passage to India), perhaps a 60 second continuous take, that is Oscar-worthy all by itself and bears watching over and over, as the old warrior is overcome by the music's funereal second movement, perhaps recalling fallen comrades.Watch for it - it is overwhelming.And compare Jack Davenport in the role of Prince Lobkovitz here with his 180 degree role in (the real BBC)Coupling.Fennella Woolgar is suberb as his wife. Key, much of the acting here is of necessity done with facial and bodily expressions only, since the entire symphony is performed.Watch what fine actors can do without a word spoken.The musical performance is satisfying, because the actual musicians, not actors, are the players, and are duly credited.It is interesting to compare this John Elliott Gardiner reading with his on CD with the same orchestra - I swear, this is better!The only flaw - some may find the Beethovenian romance angle a bit hokey, but apparently even it is based on fact.A superb add-on is the entire work performed without break; the spoken parts are replaced by a look at what appears to be the original score.Only the BBC could have or would have lavished such production values and acting talent on one complete Beethoven Symphony.We are just glad they did.Click Here to see more reviews about: Beethoven - Eroica / John Eliot Gardiner, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique (2004)
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