Tina Arena brings Evita to life in Sydney. Photo: Jeff Busby.
What to make of Eva Peron? Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s bio musical of the former Argentine First Lady doesn’t answer the question (far too hard, would take far too long!) and lets the adulating crowds, the cynical narrator Che and the portrayal of Evita as a small-time self-seeking actress turned selfless saint tell their own stories, leaving the audience to decide.
One thing is for sure, though – Evita the musical has withstood the test of time, from its premiere in London in 1978, which brought fame to Elaine Page in the title role, to its recreation here in Sydney, with legendary Broadway producer Hal Prince once again directing, and now with Australia’s Tina Arena as Evita.
And the songs – among them “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”, “On This Night of a Thousand Stars”, “High Flying”, “Adored” and “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” – are both familiar and eagerly awaited by an audience that knows all the lyrics and just wants to hear them again, and again.
Tina Arena and the cast of Evita. Photo: Jeff Busby
If memory serves (and it probably doesn’t), this production seems less glitzy than the London original, and the remarkable story of Eva Peron’s rise is the more fascinating for it. The sets are often sombre and uncluttered, allowing for a less emotional telling of the tale, helped enormously by the black and white footage of the real Evita and Juan Peron to remind us that this is a story, not necessarily history.
It starts with her death. At a cinema in Buenos Aires in 1952, a film screening is interrupted by a news flash announcing that Eva Peron has passed away, and Argentina goes into frantic, public mourning (redolent of the national keening that accompanied the death of another blonde icon, Princess Diana.)
Tina Arena and Kurt Kansley in Evita. Photo: Jeff Busby
For the opposition, Che (Kurt Kansley) gives us the deprecating “Oh What A Circus” and we flashback to a young Eva Duarte who’s in love with a tango singer called Magaldi (Michael Falzon), soon to be ditched for the bigger prize, Juan Peron (Paulo Szot).
It’s all wonderfully realised, thanks to a fabulous and talented cast under the musical direction of Opera Australia’s Guy Simpson. Larry Fuller’s choreography and Timothy O’Brien’s sets take us back to Buenos Aires in the 1940s and ’50s, allowing us glimpses of life in the different social strata, from poverty and street tango to military manoeuvres (the rocking chair scene in which Peron claims power is a standout) to palaces and Christian Dior dresses.
The star of the show is of course Tina Arena whose voice is exquisite and quite up to the difficult score. Every song is delivered with punch and panache. “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”, sung from the balcony of Peron’s government palace, the Casa Rosada, at the beginning of Act 2, is thrilling and, once again, staged in such a way that the sainted Evita is contrasted with the manipulating Eva. Brazilian operatic baritone Szot is a perfect match, both as Evita’s husband and for Arena’s voice.
Special mention, too, to Alexis Van Maanen, the ousted Mistress, for her wrenching performance of “Another Suitcase in Another Hall”. As with all the songs in Evita, Tim Rice’s sharp lyrics tell the story and add a layer of cynicism and sophistication not found in every musical.
All in all, this Evita is a fabulous production.
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita is at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Syney Opera House until November 2.
