Review: EVITA at Grand Théâtre De La Ville De Luxembourg

EVITA IN LUXEMBOURG :

"I WANNA BE A PART OF B.A., BUENOS AIRES, BIG APPLE!"

Little did Eva Peron know that she was not only going be a part of B.A. but also the First Lady of Argentina and eventually will be remembered as Evita (Little Eva).

It was a real pleasure to a musical addict for me, to see one of the world's most iconic musicals, "Evita", when it came to Luxembourg's Grand Théâtre performed from19-31st of December 2017. The first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical has been performed by the most famous people: Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Ricky Martin and so on...

Evita the musical, tells the story of Eva María Duarte de Perón who born in poverty in the rural village of Los Toldos, in the Pampas, as the youngest of five children. At the age 15 in 1934, she moved to the nation's capital of Buenos Aires to pursue a career as a stage, radio, and film actress. She met Colonel Juan Perón there and her life completely changed. Evita follows Eva's journey from humble beginnings through to extraordinary wealth, power and iconic status which ultimately lead her to be heralded as the 'spiritual leader of the nation' by the Argentine people.

Now let's skip to the actual show and let me tell you how amazingly talented cast of Evita thrilled the audience of Grand Theatre Luxembourg!

Evita was played by Magdalena Alberto, who we can also remember as Fantine from the 25th Anniversary of Les Miserables. With herself being Portuguese, I believe that Magdalena reflected the passion and ambition of an Argentine girl born and raised in a rural village. We must admit that the performance of her declines a little bit in 2nd act, however, it can be explained by how frustrating and demanding can be to play a role like Evita with all these high pitch songs, difficulty reflecting Evita's strong personality during the whole show reflection and finally catching the rhythm of the Latin-flavored dances.

Che was played by Gian Marco Schiaretti, a real charmer who we can remember from Tarzan the Musical. Being a narrator of a musical can make the act boring for the actor himself, however, Gian Marco is a kind of an actor who becomes a legend right after the moment he steps into the stage and never loses his energy until the end. Moreover, I can say that he is the best fit for Che Guevera that I have seen for now both in terms of his acting technique and vocal range. He gave us thrills with his smooth and strong tenor voice with the most challenging leads he has and sings like it's not hard at all. Building the love-hate feelings through Evita and Peronism is the responsibility of "Che Guevera" role in the musical. Gian Marco seems that he has mentally practiced a lot to create this environment for the audience, as he is the one who determines the course of the show, more than Evita herself.

Juan Peron was performed by Kevin Stephen-Jonesz and Agustin Magaldi the tango singer was played by Oscar Balmaseda.

I have left the theatre with meeting a new and amazing talent: Oscar Balmaseda! He pulled through my favorite song "On these night of the thousand stars" so well, that I wish I had another chance to listen him singing this song again and again. After the show, I had a hope of finding his works online. I couldn't manage to do, however, my hope is to see him in other Broadway Musical as that night, he really deserved to be on that stage. (He also seems quite excited about it!)

Special thanks to Ensemble! I couldn't take my eyes off the dancers during songs "Buenos Aires" and "The Art of Possible". Also many thanks to the choir and the orchestra, "Requiem of Evita" gave goosebumps to the whole audience.

The stage design was also impressive, the lifted columns, different kinds of staircases and the semitransparent curtain with an Argentinian flag was making everything whole and well thought.

As I am in love with the costumes of this musical, I actually have a lot to say. But in summary, dresses of women, colors and liveliness of dress cuts really made us feel travel to Argentina in 1940-1950s.

Magdalena Alberto actually changes 18 dresses during the show! The iconic white dress is a Dior replica.

To summarize, we had a great night and left the theatre with pure enjoyment. I personally think that the musical Evita certainly doesn't have the most interesting story. Not the story itself, but the music, tango and pasa-doble rhythms and dances, the strong characters of both Eva Peron and Che, makes you feel drowned into the show.

As all the musical lovers know, the middle section of the 2nd act is always the most boring one, this is a classic! It was same with the Evita, however, the energy and collaboration within the whole cast were undisputed.

Looking forward to seeing another Broadway Show in Luxembourg Theatre!

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