Requiem for Evita / Oh What a Circus Lyrics - Evita

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Composers: Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice
• Lyricist: Tim Rice
• Featured Vocals: Mandy Patinkin (Che), Patti LuPone (Eva Perón), company chorus
• Producers: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
• Release Date: September 25, 1979 (U.S. cast LP)
• Genre: Theatrical rock opera with liturgical overtones
• Instruments: Pipe organ, electric guitars, bass, drum kit, Latin percussion, brass, massed choir, strings
• Label: MCA Records
• Album: Evita (Original Cast Recording)
• Track #: 2
• Length: ~7 min 30 sec
• Language: English & Ecclesiastical Latin
• Mood: Sardonic, ceremonial, razor-sharp
• Recording Studio: RCA Studios, New York City
• Copyright © 1979 The Really Useful Group Ltd. / Ensign Music Ltd.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The curtain has barely risen when “Requiem for Evita / Oh What a Circus” drops like a cathedral bell. A stark, Gregorian-flavoured chorus intones “Requiem aeternum dona Evita”; incense seems to gust straight from the speakers. Then—crack!—guitar and snare kick in, and Che bursts through the clouds with a sneer: “O what a circus!” The sudden pivot from requiem mass to rock cabaret is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s way of telling us we’re in for sacred and profane in the same breath.

I love how Mandy Patinkin’s Che struts over syncopated Latin percussion, dissecting Argentina’s grief as if filing a tabloid report. Tim Rice’s lyric juggles dark humour (“falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right”) with biting political commentary; the crowd becomes both chorus and accomplice. Underneath, a walking bass stalks like a procession bearer whose patience is running thin.

“Instead of government we had a stage / Instead of ideas a prima donna’s rage”

That couplet lands harder than a gavel. Rice paints the Perón era as theatre—glitter without policy—and Che’s punk-ish delivery nails the indictment. Notice Webber’s muted trumpet hits on “rage”; they feel like eye-rolls rendered in brass.

Structure & Sonic Palette

The composition splits almost exactly down the middle. Part A (the Requiem) is modal, Lydian-coloured, anchored by choir and tubular bells—echoes of Verdi’s Requiem. Part B (Oh What a Circus) sails into straight 4/4 rock with claves tapping a subtle tango accent. The transition is bridged by a dissonant organ chord—like a cathedral door slamming behind a carnival barker.

Narrative Function

Within the show, this number serves as both obituary and thesis statement. Che, our omnipresent commentator, frames Eva’s death as spectacle marketing—funeral as press release. The “Santa Evita” questions (“What kind of goddess has lived among us?”) plant seeds of doubt that blossom throughout the score.

Hidden Textures

Listen for the sly bass-guitar slide under “good for the country in a roundabout way”; it’s a musical shrug. Later, when the crowd shifts to “Salve Regina”, a solo violin quotes “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” in half-time—foreshadowing the anthem we haven’t yet heard.

Similar Songs

1. “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” – Stephen Sondheim
   Both tracks open their respective shows with choral menace, establishing tone before the leads enter. Sondheim’s sailors chant doom in Aeolian minor; Webber’s mourners chant Latin in Lydian light, only to be undercut by Che’s sarcasm. Each piece uses repetitive motifs (Sweeney’s hammering “Swing your razor wide” / Che’s recurring “Sing you fools!”) to drill theme into audience memory. Rhythmically, both zip between solemn processional and punchy theatrical rock. Finally, they share a narrator-outside-the-story perspective, daring us to judge the anti-hero before curtain two even rises.
2. “Alexander Hamilton” – Lin-Manuel Miranda
   Miranda’s opener weaves biography through hip-hop cadence, just as Rice distills Eva’s aftermath through rock patter. Both numbers juggle ensemble interjections with a lone narrator (Burr / Che) who questions legacy. Harmonic progressions climb stepwise to an unresolved tension, reflecting the historical intrigue at play. And both songs function as marketing sizzle reels—come for the beat, stay for the politics.
3. “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” – Elton John
   Webber often cites Elton’s piano-rock epics as inspiration, and you can hear it: extended instrumental preambles, sudden meter shifts, guitar-organ duels. Both tracks juxtapose dirge-like openings with swaggering rock codas, turning mourning into arena anthem. Even the organ timbre in Webber’s intro echoes the ARP synthesizer swell in Elton’s 1973 suite.

Questions and Answers

Why does the song toggle between Latin and English?

The Latin mass roots Eva in sainthood spectacle, while Che’s English commentary drags the ritual back to street level, creating dramatic irony.

Is Che really Ernesto “Che” Guevara?

The book writers nodded to Guevara’s rebellious aura, but this Che is more narrative device—an omniscient everyman with revolutionary seasoning.

What key changes drive the drama?

The Requiem sits in E-flat Lydian; “Oh What a Circus” pivots to A-minor, then modulates up a whole step for each verse, ratcheting tension like news headlines escalating.

How high does Che have to sing?

Mandy Patinkin vaults to a sustained B-flat4 on “that’s how to go,” a heroic belt that still scares many a baritenor at auditions.

What’s the percussion doing under the chorus?

Subtle bongos and chachas pulse a slow tango, hinting at Argentina’s dance DNA even in a funeral march.

Awards and Chart Positions

The Evita Broadway album snagged the 1980 Grammy for Best Cast Show Album. While “Requiem for Evita / Oh What a Circus” never charted as a single, the full LP climbed to No. 19 on the Billboard 200, a rare feat for a theatre release. The song also opened the 1980 Tony telecast, cementing its reputation as a curtain-raiser par excellence.

Fan and Media Reactions

“Patinkin’s first ‘O what a show’ hits harder than espresso—instant gooseflesh.” @BroadwayBuzzard

“That Latin chant over rock guitar feels like church colliding with CBGBs. Sublime chaos.” @AltMusicPriest

“LuPone’s offstage ghost vocal gives me chills—she’s already haunting the plot before she enters.” @CastRecordingJunkie

“Webber’s pipe-organ intro should score every dramatic weather report from now on.” @StormTrackerSam

“I play this at house parties; people decide between dancing and debating politics—perfect.” @VinylSpins

Critics hail the track as one of theatre’s smartest prologues. Listeners stream it on loop when craving a dose of spectacle-plus-skepticism—a reminder that even grand funerals can hide punchlines in the pews.