EXCELLENT RECORDING OF THE COLOURFUL NEW PRODUCTION, BUT...
Marijan Bosnar | Croatia | 08/22/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"... this is only a highlights recording. But before we get to this fact, one has to say a few words about the musical itself.
Over the years Andrew Lloyd Webber has made many musicals, some more successful and appealing to the public than the others. Most people will, however, agree that "Evita" remains one of his most satisfying works to this date. Numerous reasons confirm this statement. Just like in its predecessor "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita" is almost entirely sung-through; the lyrics are witty and appropriate; the subject matter is again a personality larger-than-life who rises from obscurity and dies at the peak of its fame, thus becoming a legend; the score is captivating and appealing to the listener, at home or in the theatre. The subject matter is quite well know, but let us repeat the essentials for the ones who are unacquainted with it: We follow the life story of Eva Duarte Peron, wife of post-World war two president of Argentina, Juan Peron. However, the musical is very loosely based on the actual life of the real Evita. The story follows Evita from the day of her death in July 1952, and then we have flashbacks until that moment, covering her coming to Buenos Aires, alleged love affairs, meeting Peron, being the first lady and dying of cancer at 33.
This CD is the cast recording of the newly directed 2006 London production that opened in June in London's Adelphi Theatre. This is the first production that did not use Hal Prince's renowned direction, but instead it has Michael Grandage, one of the best contemporary British theatrical directors. The cast who delivers the glorious score is for the most part, well picked. Elena Roger, a tiny, blue-eyed young Argentinean , brings a welcoming freshness to the role, sung in the past by some of the best female voices in the theatre, such as Patti LuPone and Elaine Paige. Elena seems to understand that the role of Eva Peron needs to be acted as well as sung. She brings a new touch to the songs we've heard performed so many times before and although Patti LuPone's Evita will by all accounts remain unmatched, Elena Roger found both her voice and character, despite the fact that at some points she sounds as if she is struggling to hit the highest of notes. Her rendition of `Buenos Aires' is one of the highlights of this recording, but one must note that the famous `Don't cry for me Argentina' needed a bit more of the vocal range in Elena's take of the refrain reprise.
Matt Rawle's Che gets a mixed review. He can be quite good at times (like in `The money kept rolling in') and yet he has the tendency of singing too much in a high voice, similarly like Mandy Patinkin on the 1979 Broadway Cast Recording. I always felt Che needs to have a deeper voice, as sung by Antonio Banderas, Colm Wilkinson or David Essex. Philip Quast makes a fine Peron, but his presence on this album, due to its highlights nature, is barely noticeable. Lorna Want's Mistress is a gem in her rendition of 'Another suitcase in another hall'.
The new orchestrations sound fresh and have more of a Latin American and tango flavor than the previous ones. `Buenos Aires' has a new lush melody in between the verses and the discreet accordion sound in `I'd be surprisingly good for you' is a nice touch. However, there are some quite unnecessary cuts made in the music. So in the latter song the charming orchestral play of the melody between the refrains is completely cut, which takes a lot from the song's appeal. The same has been done with `You must love me', which is beautifully performed by Roger, but the lack of the orchestral solo is something which is very noticeable and not called for.
The lyrics of Tim Rice, one of the main assets of this show, haven't lost any of their wittiness and one has to mention the fact that the entire second verse of `Lament', which can be only heard on the 1976 Concept Album with Julie Covington, is now fully used for the first time on stage. This is very important, since not only does it gives an important insight into what authors conceived as Eva's motivation (the need to be loved), but also it makes the whole story line more complete. This is certainly the most touching number on the CD: Roger gives a truly moving performance and there is a discreet choral accompaniment here, which gives a moving note to it all.
Finally, to the issue from the beginning of this review. This is, sadly, only a highlights CD of this production, and what's worse, it has less material than the highlights album of the movie soundtrack with Madonna. It remains unclear why the author's didn't go for a full 2 disc edition, even more so, when the last one was done in 1979, with Broadway Cast Recording. No matter what the reasons were, there was 10 more minutes left to fill on this CD and it is just about enough to round off the story. Some of the things missing in the musical numbers on the CD are: `Eva and Magladi', the introduction to `A new Argentina' or the last Eva's lines from `The rainbow tour'. There is also a question of the reason for including `The art of the possible' (which is more of a number to be seen on stage than to listen) and omitting of `Peron's latest flame' altogether. These are the main reasons this CD is not as good as it could have been. Let us hope that this issue will be resolved if this production makes it to Broadway in the near future. The CD itself comes in a nice sleeve case, lyrics, director's notes and a couple of production pictures.
For those of you who are getting acquainted with the story of Eva Peron for the first time I must point out: Bear in mind that this musical is only loosely based on the life of the real Evita. As much as Tim Rice's lyrics are craftily made, they lack a lot of historical accuracy. As a historian I became very interested in Eva Peron's life story so I did some research after seeing the movie. It turned out that the authors based their entire work on a single book called EVITA: THE WOMAN WITH A WHIP by Mary Main. The author belonged to the rich Anglo-Argentinean part of the society that was naturally opposed to Perons. Today's historians concur that this book is based on rumors, lies and myths, written with the single purpose of slandering Eva Peron as much as possible. It contains no footnotes and no bibliography. The authors used it mainly because it was one of the few books available on the subject in the English language during the 70-is. So one should be very careful in making any conclusions based on the musical or the movie alone.
All things considered, this is a nice addition to your existing Evita cast recording collection or a good souvenir from the show. But for the people who want to enjoy Evita completely, I would recommend to go for the more complete recordings: 1976 Concept Album with Julie Covington, 1979 Broadway Cast with a Tony-winning Patti LuPone or 1996 movie soundtrack with Madonna.
"
A New Argentina! (or at least a new Argentinean playing Evit
Steven Valenti | Cleveland, OH | 09/12/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It dawned on me awhile ago that no matter what your opinion of Andrew Lloyd Webber, if he had only written three musicals: "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Evita", and "The Phantom of the Opera," he would still qualify as one of the greatest musical composers of the last forty years. The fact that he has been so prolific and adventurous in his material only elevates him in my mind. I can't help but appreciate his love of musicals, even when he doesn't quite hit the mark. Really-- besides Sondheim (obviously)-- who has been trying out new, even experimental, ideas to such a degree for so long?
Think about it for a second: while most composers take easy approaches (especially these days, when the norm is to adapt recent and well known films), Lloyd Webber has written shows about cats (based entirely on a book of poems, no less!), fading Hollywood movie stars, the Troubles in Ireland, racing trains, and even one about a girl in the bible belt who thinks the convict hiding in her barn is Jesus. Whatever you think of his musical style (Too bombastic! Too many recycled melodies!) or the shortcomings of his lyricists, he takes more chances than most composers and there are memorable tunes in virtually every show he has written. And though the three I mentioned as his best are all pretty early works, I don't think he's lost his touch: "The Woman in White," his latest, was way underrated. I mean, come on, it is SO much better than most scores we get from most ANY musical composer (and David Zippel's lyrics, unlike some of Lloyd Webber's other collaborators, are right there on the same melodramatic wavelength as the material and music).
Anyway, if I sound defensive it's because Lloyd Webber's "Evita" was the musical that hooked me on cast recordings, and it's one I really don't get tired of hearing (especially with so many recordings available to keep it fresh). The music is excellent, Tim Rice's lyrics are superb, and the whole show is innovative in its deliberately nontraditional storytelling. In short, it's one of my all time favorite modern musicals.
So now we have another version to add to the lot: the London 2006 revival recording. First things first: unfortunately, it's a "highlights" version and not the usual 2-discs you expect from "Evita" recordings. So, a disappointment there. Still, most of the important stuff is here, save "Peron's Latest Flame," which was always one of my favorite numbers in the show. To cut that song is almost inexplicable (I hope it's still in the show!). I do, however, like the inclusion of "You Must Love Me," the Oscar-winning number written for the movie version. It's nice to hear it in this theatrical context.
The orchestrations throughout are also really good. Revamped by Lloyd Webber himself, they do add an extra Argentinean flavor, just as the liner notes say the intent was (at least it's what I imagine Argintenean flavor to sound like-- not an expert here on South American song stylings). There are lots of changes from previous recordings-- some quite large, others more subtle. Perhaps the most noticeable changes are a reworking of "The Art of the Possible" that is pretty cool sounding, and an updated version of the "montage" near the end.
Also adding a bit more of that Argentinean flavor is Elena Roger in the title role (she ought to-- she's from Argentina!). She's great in the role, coming across as sort of girlish, yet with a powerful harshness; she lends an authenticity to the proceedings with her conviction and Latin accent (the accent is an asset, not a problem-- she sings the lyrics with amazing clarity). I don't feel up to comparing the various Evitas, as they all have their own good qualities, but probably the best I can say about Roger is she is far from a carbon copy of any previous actress (impressive, given the amount of women who have recorded the role). Matt Rawle as Che and Philip Quast as Peron are both perfectly good, if not quite as distinctive.
So this is a really good recording overall and will get plenty of repeat playing from me. "Evita" will always be "five stars," but for rating purposes, I have to dock one star here for not quite giving us the whole score. I really don't know what they were thinking. It's even packaged to look like a usual 2 disc set! So a minor disappointment in what is otherwise a really worthwhile album.
"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1