BAUDOLINO

Umberto Eco's first foray into fiction, THE NAME OF THE ROSE, was a gripping medieval mystery that brought the Italian scholar into the public domain. But his three subsequent novels, including the most recent, BAUDOLINO, are overwritten doorstops, filled with pedantic historical references. Finishing one is more an act of defiance than anything else. George Guidall is truly heroic in tackling this work--his masterful vocal changes enliven the otherwise unendurable dialogue in this tale of a twelfth-century peasant adventurer. Unfortunately, Guidall might be the only one to stick this one out. After all, an insipid aria that lasts 19 hours isn't entertaining, even if it's sung by Pavarotti. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]