BWW Interviews: Madalena Alberto, London's New EVITA!

Hello Madalena, and welcome to BWW:UK! How are you feeling about this West End run?

I wasn't thinking about it too much - when we were doing the tour, it was pretty intense, and we concentrated on that. But now we're in London, I can see the posters, and it's actually happening! It feels like a natural thing for us to do, because we've been working on it for such a long time, and there's so much in this production that it feels really nice, it feels like the cherry on top of the cake to be able to show it to the audience here. It's exciting.

It's such a massive venue to fill!

Yes! I know. The limited run takes the pressure off a little bit. The objective is for us to enjoy ourselves and celebrate the work that we've been doing so far, and tickets are selling pretty well.

It must be a different challenge as a performer.

I do worry sometimes. I do prefer to perform in smaller venues because for me the storytelling is really important. But we have done some big venues on the tour, Edinburgh, Liverpool, not much smaller than the Dominion, and the show still worked there. As long as the truth and intention is there, it doesn't matter if the stage is big or small.

Audiences around the UK have enjoyed the show on tour - it's a legendary piece.

We've been fortunate, the reception of the show has been so wonderful. The London audience might be a little more demanding, so I hope they'll enjoy it as much as everyone else has, but it's been a privilege. I did it for six months last year, and because it went so well then we did the tour this year, so it's definitely down to the amount of people who came to see it and gave us good feedback and the reviews - it's been great.

Why do you think it's still so popular?

Mostly because of the music. They're so recognisable across generations. They're just epic. It's one of the finest works Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice did together. The story is appealing because it's a rags-to-riches story, and as I've found out, everyone connects with it - whether it's with the political commentary or the music. You realise that everyone is human and everybody is vulnerable. The response is incredible. It's a masterpiece.

You're not bored of singing Don't Cry For Me Argentina then?

No! I still don't really know how to do it, to be honest! (laughs) Every day I try something different. there have been mutations of it, and I try not to see it as a song but as a scene - for me the whole show feels like that. I never feel that I stop and sing a song - it's one big piece. With Don't Cry For Me, I think about this as being the first speech she directs to millions as the wife of the president. It's wonderful. It's always different and there's always something different to communicate - it never gets boring!

And will you be doing any more cabarets or recording?

I'd love to. It's been difficult to even think about - but it's on the cards after Evita! I'm looking forward to that, showing a different side to me, and being myself rather than playing Eva.

Madalena Alberto plays Eva Peron in Evita, now running for a limited time at the Dominion Theatre.
Follow her on Twitter @madalenaalberto