I went to see Evita while in London England in 1983. It was lovely but I didn't really understand it. I enjoyed it though. I can't remember who I went with, just that it was fun. The music was lovely.
Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual death.
The musical began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.
This has been followed by a string of professional tours and worldwide productions and numerous cast albums, as well as a major 1996 film of the musical starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. The musical was revived in London in 2006, and on Broadway in 2012, and toured the UK again in 2013–14 before running for 55 West End performances at the Dominion Theatre in September–October 2014
History
A bus in New York featuring an Evita advertisement in 1982.
Travelling late to a meal one night in 1973, though, Rice heard the end of a radio show about Eva Perón which intrigued him. As a child stamp collector, he had been fascinated by her image on the Argentine stamps, but was unaware of her significance in Argentina's history. He began research and was introduced by a Cinema International Corporation executive to the Argentine film director Carlos Pasini Hansen who had produced the TV film Queen of Hearts, which had aired in the UK on 24 October 1972. The executive also arranged for Rice to see the film at Thames Television which he did "at least twenty times" saying also that "by that time I had seen Pasini's superbly researched film, I was hooked."[1] The more Rice investigated Eva Perón, going so far as to travel to Buenos Aires to research her life with many documents and contacts that Pasini had supplied, the more fascinated he became by the woman; he even named his first daughter after her.
Rice suggested the idea of a musical based on the subject to Lloyd Webber, but although the idea of writing a score including tangos, pasos dobles, and similar Latin flavours intrigued him, Lloyd Webber ultimately rejected the idea. He decided instead to collaborate with Alan Ayckbourn on Jeeves, a traditional Rodgers and Hart-style musical based on the P. G. Wodehouse character, which proved to be a critical and commercial failure.[2] After Jeeves, Lloyd Webber returned to Rice, and they began developing Rice's proposed musical.
The authors of the 1996 book Evita: The Real Life of Eva Perón claim the musical was based on Mary Main's biography The Woman with the Whip, which was extremely critical of Eva Perón.[3] Though Rice praised the Main biography, it was never officially credited as source material. Rice created a character, Che, to serve as a narrator and Greek chorus. Although he had recently discovered Che Guevara was Argentine, he did not necessarily intend that the character be based upon him, despite inserting specific biographical details into the lyrics that clearly apply to Guevara. When Harold Prince later became involved with the project, he insisted that the actors portraying Che should use Guevara as a role model.[4] In the 1996 film adaptation, the character returned to his more anonymous roots. This was also the case for the 2006 London revival.[5]
Lloyd Webber and the conductor Anthony Bowles presented the musical at the second Sydmonton Festival before making the recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.[6]
Recording
As they had previously done with Jesus Christ Superstar, the songwriting team decided to record Evita as an album musical and selected actress and singer Julie Covington to sing the title role, after having caught an episode of Rock Follies and remembered her from the original London production of Godspell. The recording, which was released by MCA Records who had previously marketed Jesus Christ Superstar, commenced in April 1976 and was produced by Lloyd Webber and Rice. The recording was engineered by David Hamilton Smith, whose work Rice later acknowledged was effectively that of a third producer. He also delivered the line, "Statesmanship is more than entertaining peasants," a rebuttal to Eva's balcony speech on the album.Released in 1976, the two-record set included Paul Jones as Juan Perón, Colm Wilkinson as Che, Barbara Dickson as Perón's mistress, and Tony Christie as Agustín Magaldi. The writers had originally considered Steve Marriott and John Fogerty but neither was interested. Murray Head, who had enormous success with the Superstar album, recorded some demos but Rice later admitted they "didn't really reproduce the magic that his portrayal of Judas had." Colm Wilkinson had recently played Judas in the London production of Superstar and agreed to audition: "It only took a couple of verses to know he was our man."
Mike d'Abo, who had succeeded Paul Jones as lead singer of Manfred Mann, had a minor role on the album which was notable as the first one which both had appeared. Mike Smith, former lead vocalist with the Dave Clark Five and d'Abo's then working partner, also appeared.
Pasini wrote the dialogue in Spanish of the first scene, "A Cinema in Buenos Aires, 26 July 1952". On this recording, he played the part of the actor in the soundtrack of a movie that grinds to a halt and also read the official communique of Eva's death. When the album was presented to the press at Lloyd Webber's country home Sydmonton, Pasini organised a photographic presentation with his colleague Anton Furst to accompany it. His contribution to the development of the project was recognised as Rice and Lloyd Webber acknowledged him first in a thank you speech afterwards.
In Britain, Australia, South Africa, South America, and various parts of Europe, sales of the concept album exceeded those of Jesus Christ Superstar; in the United States, however, it never achieved the same level of success. Covington's recording of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (originally titled "It's Only Your Lover Returning")[7] was released in October 1976. It reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart[8] and enjoyed similar success internationally. Dickson's "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" also became a hit. In the US and UK, respectively, Karen Carpenter, Olivia Newton-John, and Petula Clark released cover versions of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina".
Character roles
- Eva Perón (mezzo): Lead. Playing age 15–33
- Che (tenor): Lead. Playing age 21–35[9][10][11][12]
- Juan Perón (baritone): Lead. Playing age 32–55
- Agustin Magaldi (tenor): Supporting. Playing age 23–35
- Perón's Mistress (mezzo): Supporting. Playing age 16
- Chorus (men, women and children of Argentina)
Synopsis
Act I
In Buenos Aires on July 26, 1952, an audience is watching a film ("A Cinema in Buenos Aires, July 26, 1952"). The film is interrupted when news breaks of the death of Eva Perón, Argentina's First Lady, at the age of 33. The nation goes into public mourning as they sing "Requiem for Evita" (in Latin, which is modelled on a Catholic requiem). Ché, a member of the public, marvels at the spectacle and promises to show how Eva did "nothing, for years" ("Oh What a Circus").In 1934, 15-year-old Eva Duarte (later Eva Duarte de Perón) lives in the provincial town of Junín, and longs to seek a better life in Buenos Aires. Eva falls in love with a tango singer, Agustín Magaldi, after she meets him at one of his shows ("On This Night of a Thousand Stars"). Eva persuades Magaldi into taking her with him to Buenos Aires and though he is initially resistant, he eventually accepts ("Eva, Beware of the City"). Upon her arrival at the city, Eva sings about her hopes and ambitions of glory as an actress ("Buenos Aires"). After her arrival, Eva is quick to leave Magaldi, and Che relates the story of how Eva sleeps her way up the social ladder, becoming a model, radio star, and actress ("Goodnight and Thank You"). He then tells of both a right-wing coup in 1943 and Eva's success, implying that Argentine politics and Eva's career may soon coincide. Che also makes a point to introduce the figure of Colonel Juan Domingo Perón, an ambitious military colonel who was making his way up the Argentine political ladder ("The Lady's Got Potential"). In a game of musical chairs that represents the rise of political figures, Perón and other military figures compete for power and exhibit their political strategy ("The Art of the Possible").
After a devastating earthquake hits the town of San Juan, Perón organises a charity concert at Luna Park to provide aid to the victims. Eva attends and briefly reunites with Agustín Magaldi, who coldly shuns her for her past actions. Perón addresses the crowd with words of encouragement and leaps off the stage, meeting Eva as soon as he exits ("Charity Concert"). Eva and Perón share a secret rendezvous following the charity concert, where Eva hints that she could help Perón rise to power ("I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You"). Eva dismisses Perón's Mistress (the character is known only by that title), who ponders the rejection ("Another Suitcase in Another Hall").
After moving in with Perón, Eva is introduced to high society, but she is met with disdain from the upper classes and the Argentine Army ("Perón's Latest Flame"). In 1946, Perón launches his presidential bid after being promoted to general in the army, and while in bed with Eva, he discusses his chances of winning the election. Eva reassures him and soon they organise rallies where the people show their support and hope for a better future, while on the sidelines Perón and his allies plot to dispose of anyone who stands in their way ("A New Argentina").
Act II
Perón is elected president in a sweeping victory in 1946. He stands "On The Balcony of the Casa Rosada" addressing his descamisados (shirtless ones). Eva speaks from the balcony of the Presidential Palace to her adoring supporters, where she reveals that despite her initial goal of achieving fame and glory, she has found her true calling to be the people of her country ("Don't Cry for Me, Argentina"). Che analyses the price of fame as Eva dances at the Inaugural Ball with Perón, now the president-elect ("High Flying, Adored").Eva insists on a glamorous image to impress the people of Argentina and promote Perónism. She prepares to tour in Europe as she is dressed for success by her fashion consultants ("Rainbow High"). The next song has Che representing leaders of the countries and even an Italian admiral. Her famous 1946 tour meets with mixed results ("Rainbow Tour"); Spaniards adore her, but the Italians liken her husband to Benito Mussolini. Even though the Italian people didn't like Evita, Argentina still had support from Italy. France is unimpressed because Eva started to get tired, but still had some mixed reviews. And the English snub her by inviting her to a country estate, rather than Buckingham Palace. Eva affirms her disdain for the upper class, while Che (pretending to be a random peasant) asks her to start helping those in need as she promised ("The Actress Hasn't Learned the Lines (You'd Like to Hear)"). Eva begins the Eva Perón Foundation to direct her charity work. Che describes Eva's controversial charitable work, and possible money laundering ("And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)").
Eva appears at a church to take the sacrament in front of her adoring supporters ("Santa Evita"), but goes into a trancelike state, beginning to hallucinate. In her vision she and Che heatedly debate her actions; Che accuses Eva of using the Argentine people for her own ends and silencing people who do not support her, while Eva cynically replies that there is no glory in trying to solve the world's problems from the sidelines ("A Waltz for Eva and Che"). At the end of the argument, Eva finally admits to herself and Che that she is dying and can't go on for much longer. Afterwards, Eva finally understands that Perón loves her for herself, not just for what she can do for him and his career ("You Must Love Me").
Perón's generals finally get sick of Eva's meddling and demand that Perón force her to leave politics. However, Perón objects and claims that if it wasn't for her, they would never have achieved as much as they have ("She Is a Diamond"). But he also concedes she won't be able to keep working for long as she will soon succumb to her cancer. Even so, Eva is determined to run for vice-president, and Perón fears that the military will stage a coup if she runs and that Eva's health is too delicate for any stressful work, but Eva insists she can continue, despite her failing health ("Dice Are Rolling/Eva's Sonnet").
Realizing she is close to death, Eva renounces her pursuit of the vice presidency and swears her eternal love to the people of Argentina ("Eva's Final Broadcast"). Eva's achievements flash before her eyes before she dies ("Montage"), and she asks for forgiveness, contemplating her choice of fame instead of long life ("Lament"). Eva dies, and embalmers preserve her body forever. Che notes that a monument was set to be built for Evita but "only the pedestal was completed, when Evita's body disappeared for 17 years...."
Musical numbers
Act I
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Act II
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- *This song is usually cut from most of the productions and replaced with "The Art of the Possible," but a modified version has appeared in a number of stagings.
- **These two songs are often credited as just "She is a Diamond".
- ***Length and selection of melodies varies from production to production.
- °Replaced by "Junin, 26 July 1952" for the Japanese productions, London and Broadway revivals.
- "You Must Love Me", written for the 1996 film, was added to the 2006 London production and several other post-film productions; its placement varies from right after "Waltz for Eva and Che" to right before "Eva's Final Broadcast."
- See Evita for the song list from the 1976 concept album.
Musical analysis
The musical employs an eclectic range of styles. Classical music in Evita includes the opening choral piece ("Requiem for Evita") and a choral interlude in "Oh What a Circus", as well as instrumental passages throughout the musical such as the orchestral version of the "Lament" and the introduction to "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Rhythmic Latinate styles are heard in pieces such as "Buenos Aires", "And the Money Kept Rolling in (And Out)" and "On This Night of a Thousand Stars", while ballads include "High Flying, Adored" and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall". Rock music includes "Oh What a Circus", "Perón's Latest Flame", and a song cut from the original production called "The Lady's Got Potential". The song was reinstated for the 1996 film with revised lyrics by Rice, and has also been used in Japanese,[13] Czech,[14] and Danish[15] stage productions to expand on Argentine history for audiences less familiar with the subject.Historical accuracy
Tomas Eloy Martinez noted:Che as well as Evita symbolise certain naïve, but effective, beliefs: the hope for a better world; a life sacrificed on the altar of the disinherited, the humiliated, the poor of the earth. They are myths which somehow reproduce the image of Christ.The lyrics and storyline of the musical are based on Mary Main's biography, Evita: The Woman with the Whip, which drew heavily upon the accounts of anti-Perónist Argentines. Shortly after the musical appeared, Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro published a more neutral account of Eva Perón's life, Evita: The Real Lives of Eva Perón, in which they claim that many of Main's assertions (which had influenced Rice's lyrics) were false, such as the suggestion that Eva had first gone to Buenos Aires as the mistress of a married musician, Agustín Magaldi. Instead, they wrote, Eva's mother Doña Juana had taken her there when she aspired to become a radio actress. Some critics also suggested that Rice's lyrics disparaged Evita's achievements unnecessarily, particularly her charity work. According to Navarro and Fraser,
[Evita] was based for the most part on the earliest and seamiest versions of Evita's life, something happened to the tale in its retelling and the Evita who emerged each evening, dressed first as a teenager, then a hooker, and finally, in tulle and silver foil, as First Lady, was far from being unsympathetic.[17]Following the success of the film version of Evita, in 1996, an Argentinean film biography of Eva Perón was released, Eva Perón: The True Story, asserting that it corrected distortions in the Lloyd Webber account.[18]
Resident Productions
Original West End production
When the recording was released, Lloyd Webber had sent a copy to the renowned American director Harold Prince and invited him to become involved with the eventual staging. Prince agreed, commenting, "Any opera that begins with a funeral can't be all bad", but he advised them that he could not take on any new commitments for the next two years.[8] In the meantime, Lloyd Webber and Rice reworked several elements of the show. Some songs were dropped and some shortened, while others were introduced and some lyrics rewritten. Prince eventually confirmed that he would be ready to start rehearsals in early 1978. When he began working on the project in May, he suggested few changes, other than for deleting Che's rock number "The Lady's Got Potential". Prince requested a song he could stage to chart Perón's rise to power, and Rice and Lloyd Webber responded with the musical chairs number "The Art of the Possible", during which military officers are eliminated until only Perón remains.[19]Evita opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on 21 June 1978 and closed on 18 February 1986, after 3,176 performances.[20] Elaine Paige played Eva with David Essex as Che, Joss Ackland as Perón, and Siobhán McCarthy as Mistress. [21] Paige was selected from among many hopefuls, after Julie Covington declined the role. The production was directed by Harold Prince, choreographed by Larry Fuller, and produced by Robert Stigwood. Paige was succeeded by Marti Webb, Stephanie Lawrence, Siobhán McCarthy (who had played The Mistress when the show opened), Jacquey Chappell and ultimately, Kathryn Evans with Maria Morgan.[22]
Webb originally played the role during Paige's holiday and was persuaded by Prince to remain in the cast as an alternate for two shows each week to aid the transition when she took over the role. This set the precedent until the show closed, with Lawrence becoming Webb's alternate. Michele Breeze, Paige's original understudy never inherited the role in London but later created it for the original New Zealand production. Susannah Fellows also understudied Eva.
Gary Bond replaced David Essex as Che, then Mark Ryan, who had first starred as Magaldi, later assumed the role, followed by Martin Smith and Jimmy Kean. Ackland's replacements included John Turner, Oz Clark and Daniel Benzali.
In his review in The Sunday Times, Derek Jewell called the show "quite marvelous" and described Lloyd Webber's "ambitious" score "an unparallelled fusion of 20th century musical experience" and Rice's lyrics as "trenchant" and "witty". Bernard Levin of The Times disliked it, however, calling it as an "odious artefact ... that calls itself an opera ... merely because the clichés between the songs are sung rather than spoken" and "one of the most disagreeable evenings I have ever spent in my life".[23]
This production won The Society of West End Theatre (S.W.E.T) award as Musical of the Year, and Elaine Paige won the award for Performance of the Year in a Musical. Harold Prince (Director of the Year) and David Essex (Performance of the Year in a Musical) received S.W.E.T. nominations.[24]
Timothy O'Brien and Tazeena Firth collaborated on the design of the show. The set was minimal, with a scaffolded balcony running along the back and sides of the stage and images projected onto a screen above. Madame Tussauds produced a wax figurine of Eva, based on Elaine Paige, for the coffin during the funeral scene at the beginning of the show. Inspired by the murals of Diego Rivera, Prince suggested the proscenium be flanked by artwork depicting the struggles of the Argentine peasants. He jettisoned the original monochromatic costumes designed for the chorus members and dancers; instead, he had them go to charity and secondhand clothing shops to purchase costumes.[25] The now iconic balcony scene featured Eva in a broad, white dress based on one actually owned by Eva Perón addressing a crowd from the rear balcony of the stage.
The Evita: Original London Cast Recording was recorded in 1978 and released by MCA Records. Some releases mistakenly refer to the concept album as the Original London Cast Recording.
The original London production transferred to the Opera House in Manchester for an extended run following its closure at the Prince Edward Theatre. Kathryn Evans and Jimmy Kean played Eva and Che with Ria Jones and John Barr being their alternates.
Original Broadway production
Poster for the Broadway production with Patti LuPone in the title role
LuPone has stated about her time in Evita:" 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life,' she said. 'I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee.'"[30]
Elaine Paige was originally told she would re-create her role in the Broadway production, however, the Actors' Equity Association refused permission for a non-American. Prince attempted to persuade the organisation for a second time when LuPone was suffering vocal problems before the production reached New York. Lupone stated in her memoir that this was nothing more than a rumour started by Prince himself to build publicity. She however had her own doubts about that being true.
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