Another Virtuosic Return

As it happens, "No Child ..." and "[title of show]" weren't the only worthwhile pieces to make return appearances to New York this week. While the Lincoln Center Festival generated reams of publicity -- much of it negative -- for its massive new "Grendel" opera, a much smaller-scale rendition of the legend (or at least the Grendel portion of it) should keep Anglo-Saxonphile festival goers on the edge of their seats.

Early-music virtuoso Benjamin Bagby is once again leading viewers through a riveting Old English account of "Beowulf." With just a six-string lute and his protean vocal gifts, Mr. Bagby — who presented a slightly shorter version of the piece at the 1997 festival — spins a masterful tale of derring-do, court pageantry, and vicious arm-to-paw combat.

John Miles Foley's translation from the Anglo-Saxon dialect will likely read as a bit prosaic to anyone who has thrilled to Seamus Heaney's sublime version of 2000. But Mr. Bagby — light on vibrato, heavy on vocal versatility and sheer orphic skill — takes complete ownership of the tale in all its gory glory.

"Beowulf" until July 22 (Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500).