We’re excited to announce our first celebrity-narrated title for Scribd Audio Spanish, Comedia. Dante Alighieri’s classic tale acquires a unique energy intended to sound musical, narrative, and illustrious through the powerful narration by actor José María de Tavira and direction by Miguel Santa Rita Sandoval.
The contemporary translation by José María Micó is melodic in nature and offers a current take on Comedia that delivers unique relevance for this generation. It also invites the listener to explore Dante’s universe and journey through each of the poet’s three kingdoms within three books: Infierno, Purgatorio, and Paraíso.
A classic narrative poem, Comedia has been a staple of education since it was first published in 1320. Widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature, and one of the greatest works of world literature, the poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century.
When narrated, the words of poetry come alive and the listener experiences a guided tour of the protagonist’s adventures ahead of each Canto. Similar to modern retellings of classic works on film, Scribd Audio Spanish created a version of Comedia that merges contemporary acting methods and music to update the cultural impact of the work. The audiobooks provide a unique opportunity for those who are new to the classic tale to explore Dante’s mind, and for those returning to revisit the text in a powerful new way.
“From the narration by José María de Tavira and direction by Miguel Santa Rita Sandoval, bringing this unique and contemporary translation to life has been inspiring and will help our readers experience Dante’s classic work in a whole new way,” says Javier "Baxter” Aceves, senior manager of international content acquisition at Scribd. “Our Spanish-speaking readers have spent countless hours consuming audiobooks produced by Scribd Audio Spanish over the past year, and we’re thrilled to add this adaptation to our community.”
Introduced in 2021, the Scribd Audio Spanish program launched with a series designed to amplify women's voices and perspectives while increasing the visibility of female authors on Scribd. These authors include prominent “narradoras y ensayistas,” like Rebecca Solnit, Emma Reyes, Nona Fernández, Dolores Reyes, and Caitlin Moran.
