We are currently booking a vacation to Florida. I love the States, and we have made regular trips to Florida, and in particular to the Walt Disney properties out there. You know that, no matter what they have changed since last time you were there, that you will enjoy yourself, have a great vacation, and come back with good memories.

I approach reviews of new versions of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals with the same ethos. I tend to enjoy any new recording, because the source material is strong. One of his strongest scores (and some would say his best) is Evita, written shortly after Jesus Christ Superstar, with his perfect-pairing lyricist Tim Rice. It has had several revivals over the years, including a major London revival and tour in 2006, and has now made it back to Broadway. To mark this, Masterworks Broadway have released the 2 disc 2012 Broadway Cast, starring Elena Roger and Ricky Martin. Yes, 'La Vida Loca' himself.

For those of you who haven't heard of Evita (is there anyone!), 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. Evita began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, and on Broadway a year later, both of which enjoyed considerable success. A major 1996 film of the musical starred Madonna and Antonio Banderas.

Produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Nigel Wright, with Tim Rice as Executive Producer, this is the first complete English language recording of the show since the original 1979 Broadway cast album. It features a limited edition outer sleeve and includes a bonus track of Elena Roger performing 'Don’t Cry For Me' in Spanish ('No llores por mí Argentina'). The score includes the songs 'Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,' 'nother Suitcase in Another Hall' and 'High Flying, Adored,' together with 'You Must Love Me,' the Oscar-winning hit from the film version.

Obviously, Evita lives or dies by it's leading lady, and whilst I'm not going to say I was over-impressed by Roger, it's an admirable effort. She has improved vastly since the 2006 London Production, where her strong accent and incredibly poor diction meant that many of the songs in the early days of the run were undecipherable. She comes over better here, but I'm still to be convinced she has the voice to go down as a classic Eva. I don't understand the reasoning for including Ricky Martin as Che, as he doesn't bring much to the party. Again, he does an okay performance, but not something that would draw you to listen to the recording again. Michael Cerveris as Juan Peron is a mighty force on Broadway, and his persona shines through on this recording.

All in all, a worthwhile addition to any collection, and an enjoyable listen. It's great to have a complete recording of the production again, and whilst it's not a classic, it's one that I will return to again.

7

Ian Gude