to finally make the
transition to the big screen, after several unsuccessful attempts
through those controversial years. Despite constant assurances from
composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, his producers, and the studios that
purchased the rights to his Broadway musicals, Webber's work has always
been endlessly delayed in adaptation. By the time
finally
was ready for production in the mid-1990's, promises of film versions of
were already swirling, and in the decade to come, only a
controversial adaptation of
would
follow. The difficulty that anyone in the production team or audience
will have with these adaptations involves the change in orchestration
and performers from the beloved original. In the case of
, the film adaptation proved to be both a critical
disaster and popularly inconsequential, especially when you compare the
success of the film to that of the everlasting musical run on stage.
Facing far fewer resistance was
, perhaps in part because
the furor involving its fan base was far less explosive. Whenever you
look back at the glory days of Webber's dominance on stages in London
and New York, you have to separate his musicals into two categories:
those that featured a consistent style and genre from start to finish,
and those that changed genre of music for each song. While
remain consistent
in their opera and orchestral drama/jazz (respectively) throughout,
are a series of individual songs that shift
significantly in style from number to number, offering far less (if any)
straight dialogue. One of the major criticisms of
as a film
was the fact that almost every moment of spoken word had to be
incorporated into one of the musical's themes, with the actual few words
of straight dialogue seeming completely out of place.
If you were fortunate enough to see the original ensemble
cast perform
Cats or
Evita on stage, the sudden shifts in
genre wouldn't have been very bothersome. That was simply the nature of
the show. On the big screen, though, the violent sways are more
troublesome. In
Evita, you have straight jazz, Latin tangos,
modern pop, stylish waltzes, orchestral operas, and everything in
between. Sequences of massive choral and orchestral score offer stunning
moments as well. The editing of the album doesn't help this fact; even
within the same song, Webber can establish a soft and heartfelt solo
tone and then suddenly, with barely any transitional material, burst
with an electric guitar bonanza guaranteed to wake up the neighbors.
Another aspect of
Evita that may cause problems is that the music
is decades old, and because Webber makes little attempt to update his
film adaptations to modern standards of musical taste, much of the music
simply sounds badly dated. The most popular songs from that era in
Webber's career are soundly rooted in the 70's and 80's easy listening
genre, and by the 2000's, many of them fail to muster the same
affection.
Evita in particular was an early Webber hit, and the
styles you hear in its songs and score would be revised with greater
impact in his subsequent hits. For hardcore Webber collectors, and those
that greatly appreciated the music on stage, these outdated sounds and
sudden transitions are simply part of the territory;
Evita is an
extremely frenetic and tiring experience, assaulting the ears with such
a variety of music that you're left stunned at the end. One aspect of
Webber's writing that is very effective, however, is his use of
repetition. He foreshadows and reprises the themes so frequently in a
production like
Evita that you can't help but have "Don't Cry for
Me Argentine" firmly lodged in your memory whether you want it there or
not. Perhaps
The Phantom of the Opera was the most effective at
this technique, with four or five extremely memorable themes, but
Evita set the standard with its primary song.
The particulars of the story are well known; the play
follows only the very basic outline of Eva Duarte's life. From a life of
poverty to one as the wife of Juan Peron, Argentina's president, Evita
became, despite her vanity and manipulative behavior in real life, a
fantastic character for romantic consumption by the mainstream. Her
death at a young age was indeed grieved by a nation about to dissolve
once again into chaos, though the story glosses over many of the
political details as well. For veteran Webber listeners, the primary
point of interest with the film adaptations of his work rests solely on
the casting of the primary three leads. This was disastrously handled
with
The Phantom of the Opera, causing the majority of audiences'
problems with the adaptation, and casting for
Evita suffered
initial problems as well. Both veteran actresses Meryl Streep and Glenn
Close shot scenes as Eva (Close had performed the lead role in Webber's
Sunset Boulevard on stage in New York), but after the producers
discovered that their voices were nowhere close to being acceptable for
the part, they hired an anxious and determined Madonna instead. Even
Madonna, with her established performing skills, require voice lessons
to assist in extending her effective range for the wild variety of songs
in
Evita. Her final performance is impressive; she may not have
the range of Patti LuPone, the Webber regular who performed Eva in the
original Broadway production, but Madonna adds valuable attitude to the
part. Her steady performance, as well as the superb orchestrations,
continues the memorable aura surrounding "Don't Cry for Me Argentina."
As the film's narrator, Che, Antonio Banderas is perhaps the most
pleasant surprise of the entire cast. His spirited and authentic Latin
flavor allows him to follow the melodies with liberal disregard, though
his talent is good enough to provide the spark and flash necessary to
counter Madonna's performance. His spunky rendition of the "Don't Cry
for Me, Argentina" theme in "Oh What a Circus" is remarkably affable.
Jonathan Pryce was never going to win any awards for his vocal
performances as Peron, but his tenderness --defying the real dictator's
historical prowess-- allows for some of the musical's most heartfelt
moments.
Even the most ardent Webber fans will admit that when
running through a double-CD album for
Evita, there are both
highlights and moments of dissonant chanting that are, by any measure,
unlistenable. It is a compilation-worthy exercise if there ever was one,
and for film music collectors looking at Webber musicals from the
outside, it's probable that the moments of orchestral majesty (with or
without vocals) will merit some exploration. These explosive, full
ensemble offerings occur at regular intervals, performing either the
primary song's theme or a subtheme (as in "Requiem" and "Lament").
Unfortunately, the brass-led performance heard over the film's end
titles (and in the film's trailers) is not available on the album. As
for the songs, there are highlights. The opening third features the hard
rock songs representing Eva's life in Buenos Aires before marrying
Peron. Webber's trademark use of sax solos are a valuable asset to any
of his musicals, and it graces "I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You" with
great elegance. The series of "victory" songs in the mid-section of the
second act are a snazzy trio. From "High Flying, Adored" to "Rainbow
Tour," the height of Evita's popularity is addressed with great humor by
Banderas, with the latter track containing the famous degradation of the
Pope. The heartbreaking guitar and piano song for Pryce, "She is a
Diamond," is his highlight. Madonna's most complicated song is the
flourishing duet with Banderas in "Waltz for Eva and Che," concluding
with the start of Madonna's necessary transition to an intentionally
weak voice as her character dies. At Madonna's request, Webber wrote a
new song for film; sparse in instrumental backing, "You Must Love Me" is
merely average and fits awkwardly into her last moments of life. The
song did allow for Webber to win an Academy Award, however, a nod by the
Academy to Webber's lifetime achievements more than anything else.
Overall,
Evita is an experience you have to view to appreciate.
The orchestral and vocal mixes in the film and on album are vibrant and
precise, mirroring the production qualities of the original
The
Phantom of the Opera cast recording. Compared to the disastrous
The Phantom of the Opera adaptation in 2004, the 1996
Evita is both loyal and enjoyable.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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