Hi All, Merry Christmas! Elena Roger appears on both the 2006 and 2012 albums. Though she is not very popular amongst Evita fans, I really like her in the role. My question is: which album do you prefer? I personally can't decide.
Anything regarding shows stated by this account is an attempt to convey opinion and not fact.
Yes, the second album is more complete, however, I enjoy the London CD's version of Lament . The Broadway album is missing the chorus vocalization in the background - which I think is truly beautiful.
She is slightly more bearable in the 2012 recording... her English accent has improved, and the newer arrangements have somewhat settled since 2006, but personally I think the two Ches are difficult to listen too - Matt Rawle's nasal squawking in the 2006 and Ricky Martin's 'interpretation' in the 2012
I saw both productions and have both albums. Both have their pluses and minuses.
I have a slight preference for the London recording because:
a) No expense was spared for the orchestra on the London album. It's a very lush sound with a very large orchestra -- unfortunately, the expense of this meant that they decide to make it a highlights-only album. The Broadway recording sometimes sounds cheap in comparison orchestra-wise -- compare the orchestras in 'Buenos Aires', for instance, and you'll see what I mean. Also, because no expense was spared, you also hear the choir in the 'Lament' which was omitted from the Broadway recording. That's a real shame because even on the London recording, i think they botched that bit slightly by over-editing the sound of the choir to the point where it doesn't even sound real. The best sound of the 'Lament' was in the show itself.
b) The cast is generally stronger. I thought Michael Cerveris was great, but Philip Quast makes for a better Perón -- he looked more like Perón (obviously, not that important when the experience is aural only), but he acted more like Perón too, I think. Again, though, the downside is that many of his parts are cut because it's a highlights-only album. And Matt Rawle, while not my favourite Che, is MUCH better than Ricky Martin's nice-guy Che who barely ever seems angry with Eva
c) Some may disagree with me on this one, but Elena's voice was in better shape at the time -- unfortunately, something happened to her voice by the time she got to Broadway 6 years later, which may partly explain some of the negative reviews of her performance in New York, but in London she was extraordinary for all the right reasons. I find that her voice sounds a lot thinner on the Broadway recording and she's sometimes a bit raspy, which she isn't on the London one. I love her on both, though.
That said, you might prefer the Broadway one for the following reasons:
a) It's the whole show. Even some of the tracks that appear on the London one have parts cut out inexplicably -- most missed are the tango instrumental at the end of 'I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You' and Eva's tantrum at the end of 'Rainbow Tour', but both are there on the Broadway recording.
b) The tempo for a lot of the songs on the Broadway recording is more as it should be; because ALW was in charge of the London one, his habit of slowing down the songs (which he was already known for doing back when the Hal Prince production was running) unfortunately got in the way, which took a little of the energy out of tracks like 'Buenos Aires', 'A New Argentina' and 'Rainbow High'. This didn't happen in the show, but it's a minus for the London recording.
c) Elena was fluent in English by the time the show got to Broadway (she was still improving it when the show first opened in London).
By the way, I don't think it's true to say Elena's not a popular Evita. She won HUGE acclaim in London, so much so they had posters everywhere with the quotes from the newspaper praising her performance, and has a massive following obviously in Argentina. It's only in New York where her reviews were sometimes less than stellar (she doesn't seem popular on this particular board, but I've read positive reviews of her Broadway stint on other boards and websites). I loved her in London and in New York, but it's true she was better in London. Personally, I think she's up there with Elaine Paige and Patti LuPone as one of the great Evitas.
I loved Elena. I taught her voice sounded amazing! You could hear her emotions through every song and is defiantly one of my top Evitas. I think the Broadway album is better because all the songs are in it and if, like me you listened to the album before seeing the show, its a great insight into the story!
One of the most ridiculous things about this production, of which there were many, was that they wanted to make it an authentic Latino flavored show...but the leading lady, with her thick accent could barely be understood and the leading man overpronounced everything and sounded like he was from Long Island. Elena did sound better in London and if Ricky weren't in it in NY, the show would have run 2 months. His Spanish speaking fans kept the show running for as long as it did. Elena is a true artist, but the role was not a good fit for her voice...IMHO.
I've read people on this board say she was hard to understand and I think that is nonsense. She has an accent but you can understand every word and she actually sounds like you would think the real Evita might sound like. I actually liked the bit of raspiness in her voice. It made you feel like this is a person whose come up from the streets, had a tough life and fought for everything she's gotten. I thought she was a terrific Evita.
I've only listened to the Broadway recording once, but I felt it was incredibly bland, especially when compared to the London one, which is perhaps the most energetic recording of the show, complete or not.
I've never seen Evita live, but I've seen a not-so-legal (but very good) recording of Elena on Broadway and I loved it. I thought she really understood Eva, and her accent is much more bearable when you're watching her act - she played it phenomenally. That being said, I don't love her voice, and I always choose to listen to Patti (who I normally don't like that much).
joined:11/2/13
joined:
11/2/13
Posted: 12/25/13 at 10:14pm