Evita: The Legend of Eva Peron, 1919-1952

by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice

The lyrics of the musical based on the life of the charismatic Argentinian leader are presented with original photographs from her career and a historical commentary

128 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1979

About the author

Many popularly successful musicals of British composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber include Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), Evita (1976), and The Phantom of the Opera (1986).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_...

Reviews

[Donna Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the musical "Evita" and wanted to know more about this dynamic, ambitious woman - and I thought that a book written by the renown librettist of the play would be a perfect choice (and it was the only biography on shelf at the library...). Bad decision.

Andrew Lloyd Webber writes amazing musicals - but he's no author. The book was poorly written - and badly edited (in spots, the spell checker changed "Peron" (Eva's last name) to "Person"). The book did a little to fill in the political history of Juan Peron's Argentina - but I really wanted to know more about Evita, the woman - and there was not much there. The author obviously didn't do any research beyond what it took to write his music, and filled in the gaps with guesses and misinformation. Anything that wasn't hinted at in the musical, wasn't mentioned in the book.

I was especially interested in the illness that killed Evita at the height of her glory, at only 33 years old. Webber writes it "might have been" uterine cancer -- wrong. Other sources, all very easily accessible, state that she died of advanced cervical cancer, which makes much more sense, considering her promiscuous youth and her refusal to see a doctor. In fact, this information would have been a very powerful underscore to the story of the woman who used her sexuality to claw her way to power, money and status.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book written by the creators of my favorite musical, Evita. It contains Tim Rice's lyrics as they were in 1978 when Evita was set for adaptation from a concept album to the London stage. The lyrics are accompanied by stage direction and historical context; the book is also filled with images of Eva Peron. Andrew Lloyd Webber provides a fascinating essay at the end where he explains the recurring motifs and their connection to Eva's many facets. As her husband says, she is a diamond.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive book about the musical (at this point called 'opera'), containing the lyrics scene-to-scene along with the real history of Perons behind the musical and also lots of photos about the real Eva Peron. Based on the concept recording, so some lyrics aren't up-to-date, but they're a minority and it's interesting to see how the musical has developed since 1978. Mostly it's written by Tim Rice, but in the end there's a couple of pages about the music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

[Dana Cordelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and really helpful supplement to the Webber/ Rice opera, this book really fills in a lot of the gaps in the hyperbolic history of Eva Peron. It makes me want to read more about her. And I very, very much want to go to Buenos Aires.