Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Touch of Broadway: Paloma San Basilio Does Evita

It's a bit weird, but somehow Broadway musicals have been going well on my mp3 player when I'm our riding up endless upslopes in the eastern mountains. I know a lot of opera fans have quite a lot of disdain for one Andrew Lloyd Webber, but the man sure knows how to compose tunes that stick to your ears. One of his many hits is, of course, Evita's famous 'Don't Cry For Me, Argentina'.

Like many, there is no Evita like Julie Covington for me... but when it comes to the show's flag tune, she has serious competition in the Spanish version by Paloma San Balisio. I mean... how the heck does she sing like that with tears rolling down her cheeks anyhow?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like this version too, although I would rather listen than watch as the singing head is a little disconcerting! I think she has been clever with the tears. She stares unblinking during the orchestral interlude and tears form at exactly the right time in the song. That said, she does put the song over very well - I think it is really successful in that language.
btw ... that was me ta;king about the weather yesterday. I cannot comment on the iPod by signing in as myself so I have to be anonymous!!

Smorg said...

Hiya Eyes!
Ha, a bit of the 80's glam style thingy going on, ay? ;o) I don't know how she times the tear so well. It's gotta be a special skill to cry on demand like that, and limiting the crying to just the eyes (without it affecting the voice). Rather fascinating, mostly because I hardly ever cry myself. :oD

Sorry Blogger is giving you such a hard time with the comment box! I hope it is fixed one of these days. Weird glitch!

Thanks a bunch for stopping by! We're finally having winter-worthy temperature for a few days, i think. Unfortunately I'll have to ride the bike in it tomorrow (no rain, but it'll be cold). :oP But then there's a treat to warm me up tomorrow evening, so I won't complain too much. ;o) Hope your weekend has started well!

Anonymous said...

I don't think this is crying but rather eyes watering. Real crying is sparked by emotions, hence it would be very difficult to sing at the same time. Eye watering is merely a physical response - believe me, I know! I am stuck with a condition where the eyes stream when windy/cold etc and do not drain away. So if the singer forces her eyes to remain open without blinking then they will water and spill over but without the sobbing or emotional stuff that goes with real crying.
So you don't cry much? Is that restrain or some other factor?
Intrigued to know what treat will be warming you up ;) !

Smorg said...

Ha! I always learn interesting new things chatting with you. :D

Nah, I don't cry much indeed. I guess it's a cultural thing. Where I came from crying is rather looked down on. I had a bit of the eye-watering thingy when I had that bad bike crash in September, though. Banged up the right side of my face pretty bad and had this 1/2 inch cut by the outside of eye lid, and the skin around it swelled up so much that I couldn't open my right eye for a few days. And the whole time it felt like there was tear leaking out the side of the eye that annoyed the daylight out of me. There really wasn't much leaking at all, but somehow it felt like there was. Was really happy when that went away after 4 days or so. :)

Oh, the treat! That was the ticket to hear Viviane Hagner play the Mendelssohn violin concerto. ;) Been wanting to hear that lass play live for years. She was absolutely fantastic!