Elena Roger

Don’t cry for me Argentina

t5m — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:40:15 +0000

Written by Tim Rice, Evita tells the story of Eva Peron the wife of Juan Peron, the President of Argentina. Together they created a revolution in support of the workers which divided the whole country. Some viewed them as dictators but others loved them, she told t5m.

Eva Peron was born into a poor family in a small province in Buenos Aires. Fatherless, she was always refered to as the ‘bastard’ and resented not only rich people but her low status. Wishing to pursue her dreams as an actress, she came to Buenos Aires where she met Juan Peron before he became president and they moved in together, quickly being dubbed a ‘whore’.

They finally married, and Eva becomes the wife of Juan and she wants to become Vice President. Unfortunately, her life is cut short when she dies of cancer at the age of 33. After their rule, Argentina falls into the hands of the military throwing the country into disarray and poverty.

Elena’s toughest role to date!

Elena Roger: With a little help from her friends…

t5m — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:20:31 +0000

On her tour around Europe, Elena met a friend from home who suggested that she come to London and audition for Evita. Elena explains how she was happy in Buenos Aires and she never thought of leaving, afterall, she was very successful in Argentina. Nonethless she flew to London to audition in front of the production staff of Evita who made her sing and dance.

Although Webber loved her voice, he had a problem with her accent and told her to improve it. After hearing nothing for months, she finally received good news and was asked to join the cast of Evita. She never thought she could be a West End star!

Elena Roger: No more comedy in Les Mis

t5m — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:17:30 +0000

Her first big acting role was in Les Miserables, which made her enjoy being an actress. It was the norm to bring productions such as Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables to Argentina. A comedienne by trade, the gritty role forced her to look deep within herself and release some dark emotions which she really enjoyed doing. Hailing from an Italian background also, her main perogative was to do a one woman show about an Italian singer, a show which she took to Italy. The show won Best Musical and Elena won Best Actress in a musical. Elena describes the one woman show as her daughter or son.

Elena Rogers: From Argentina to London all for a role

t5m — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:14:31 +0000

Her biggest challenge was her role in Andrew Llloyd Webber’s Evita. She didn’t believe that she could make it in the West End because of her accent. The Union wanted to English people in plays, but she felt that she could identify with the character because she was also from Argentina, it was about her country, and it was made much easier because it was a musical. It would have been a struggle for an English woman to play an Argentinian. At first, she was frightened coming to London for one year and meeting new people but it turned out to be a great opportunity which spun her career 360 degrees.

Elena Rogers: Once a tomboy?

t5m — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:11:32 +0000

You wouldn’t believe it but Elena Roger used be a teenager in tennis shoes, jogging bottoms, whilst donning disheveled hair and no make-up. It wasn’t until the choreographer on her first audition advised her to start wearing high heels. She knew her voice was special, but she had to be more confident and feminine if she wanted to be recognised. Her first audition wasn’t a normal one, it lasted for one month and forced her to grow up quite quickly. Her parents were always a bit worried about Elena becoming an actress, they were scared that she would be starved!