2023 Hobit (Dušan Cinkota)

The Hobbit

Release Date: 2023.06.26
Reader: Dušan Cinkota
Language: Slovak
Translator: Otakar Kořínek
Organisation: Slovart Publishing House
ISBN: 9788056659908
Duration: 11 hours 3 minutes
Unabridged: Yes
Country: Slovakia
Licenced: Yes
Formats: MP3-CD, Digital

Dušan Cinkota (born 1970) is prestigious theatre and film actor, he is the official Slovak voice for Tom Hanks and Chandler Bing (Friends). Cinkota treats the text like a theatrical script. He is highly animated, giving distinct and textured voices to the thirteen dwarves, Gandalf, and a chilling, whispering Gollum. His performance of Bilbo captures the character’s transition from a fussy homebody to a seasoned adventurer with a subtle deepening of tone.

The most unique feature of this production is its handling of Tolkien’s songs and poems. Rather than traditional folk singing, the poems are performed by the famous Slovak hip-hop duo Modré hory (members Bene and Lyrik). The poems are recited and “rapped” over a modern musical score. This was a deliberate creative choice by the director to make the “archaic” poems feel visceral and rhythmic for a modern audience. The music was composed by Martin Chrastina and Roland Kánik, with professional sound design by the company 582 s. r. o.

The recording uses the translation by Otakar Kořínek, originally published in 2002 and updated in subsequent years. It uses creative Slovak localizations; Bilbo Bublík (Bilbo Baggins), Vreckany (Bag End), Vrchoviny (The Misty Mountains).

The combination of Cinkota’s energetic narration and the hip-hop influenced poems by Modré hory makes it arguably the most experimental and modern recording of The Hobbit currently available in any language.