Track Listing

1. Requiem For Evita
2. Oh What A Circus
3. On This Night Of A Thousand Stars
4. Eva Beware Of The City
5. Buenos Aires
6. Goodnight And Thank You
7. The Art Of The Possible
8. I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You
9. Another Suitcase In Another Hall
10. A New Argentina
11. Don't Cry For Me Argentina
12. High Flying, Adored
13. Rainbow High
14. Rainbow Tour
15. And The Money Kept Rolling In (And Out)
16. Waltz For Eva And Che
17. You Must Love Me
18. She Is A Diamond
19. Montage
20. Lament

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15331 in Music
• Released on: 2006-06-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Running time: 70 minutes

Customer Reviews

shortchanged ....
It's a great album and Elena Rogers is raspingly fantastic and different in the lead role - but I did feel shortchanged as so little of the important linking passages and some of the important songs were not on the album - was this just to save money? Peron's Latest Flame and Eva's Final Broadcast are two of my favourites in the show - neither is on this CD. Really disappointing ......

Almost as good as being in the audience!
Unfortunately, most peoples experience of Evita is the rubbish 1996 film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas, so the less said about that debacle the better. Evita is simply something that MUST be enjoyed in its natural environment - the theatre, but this cast recording of the new London production is the next best thing to actually being there, and is leagues ahead of the film version that came before it.

The thing that instantly hits you about this disc is the astounding quality of the music, which is crisp and rich. Also, the score has been radically overhauled and updated from the original London and Broadway productions - most notably on "Requiem for Evita" and "Buenos Aires". It is more dynamic and expressive than ever before, and is also more authentically Latin-American. Musically, this is an aural treat.

While the music is fantastic throughout, the cast is more of a mixed bag. There is little to say that hasn't already been said by other reviewers. Elena Roger's voice is totally unique, and she makes an extremely charismatic Eva. It's not what I would call a classic voice, but it has a raw, yet rich quality. In one sentence it will be silky smooth, yet in the very next it will jar through you like an electric drill. In a role like Evita this is no bad thing, and she is equal parts singer and actress, bringing real pathos to the role. However, for me, the definitive Eva is Elaine Paige (check out the Original London Cast Recording).
When I saw Evita at the Adelphi in June, to be honest I was not too impressed with Matt Rawle as Che. However, on this recording he is far more confident in the role, and brings more emotion into what he is singing. Philip Quast has a good voice, but his stage performance doesn't shine through on this recording, and he seems a bit too tame. Lorna Want is fantastic as the mistress though, and Gary Milner makes quite a good Magaldi, but he isn't as sleazy as in previous incarnations.

As everyone else has noted, this is only a highlights CD. As such, many of the songs have been cut or shortened, although there are some bemusing song choices, with songs like "Montage" being included. I would have personally taken out this song and included "Peron's Latest Flame" and "Dice Are Rolling/Eva's Sonnet", which is one of the more important numbers from the show. I would have also perhaps reinstated "A New Argentina" to its full length. That said, you do get most of the story here, which is not too hard to follow. As a highlights CD, it is brilliant, but you are left wanting more - I miss the little end bit in "Rainbow Tour" where Eva has a hissy fit, and the full version of "She Is a Diamond" where Che and the generals openly criticize Eva and Peron. Thankfully though, "Oh What a Circus" is included in its full length.
Unfortunately, the only full-length recording of the stage show in its entirety is the Premiere American Recording (which features the Original Broadway Cast), but this is expensive and hard to get hold of in the UK.

There are too many good songs to mention, and this is really something that has to be listened to from start to finish. Evita is Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's finest hour, and this new production is fantastic. Finally, the CD is very nicely packaged with a booklet containing the libretto, and another smaller booklet containing cast photos from the new production, making it that little but more special.

Great production, good CD
The CD is actually a mixed bag, but then it would be hard for any recording to live up to the original. My biggest complaint about this new CD is that it's just that: one CD. They've cut down the score considerably for the new recording, though perhaps that's understandable. There are numerous complete recordings of Evita available, and anyone looking for a document of the entire show certainly has other options. But the musical numbers for this recording begin and end in weird places, although that may be my preconceptions talking.

Quibbles aside, the strengths of this recording lie in the performances and orchestrations. Elena Rogers was a powerhouse as Evita on stage, and she's no less impressive in aural form. She has sufficient fire and pathos to carry the entire recording on her own. Her costars Matt Rawle and Phillip Quast come off a bit less well. Rawle seems to have only one emotion: anger. There's very little humor in his interpretation of Che, just intermittent, forced sarcasm. Quast was remarkable on stage as Peron, but somehow his impressive stature fails to translate to the recording.

What I really noticed on the CD that I didn't in the theater is the dynamic new orchestrations. Although the charts seem thinner than those from the original US production, the music has a far more sinister and authentically Argentinian sound to it. Of particular note is the solo violin and accordian accompaniment during the numerous tango sequences. This becomes especially effective during the creepy and dissonant "Art of the Possible."

One final note, it's great to have another recording of the song "You Must Love Me," Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Oscar-winning song from the movie version. The song really works well in the new show, giving Evita a chance to show Peron that she really does need him. (Or is it just more manipulation? You be the judge.) In any case, it's great to have someone other than...[shudder]...Madonna singing this song. Remember when she sang it on the Oscars, stiff as a board, and stretching to hit the notes? Painful.