Lord Lloyd-Webber has said the lesson of Evita is “even more important” now than it might have been at the time the musical was written due to the rise of extremism, which is “beginning to show its voice all over Europe”.

Set in Argentina between 1934 and 1952, the musical by Lord Lloyd-Webber, 77, and Sir Tim Rice charts the rise of Eva Peron, from a poor child to ambitious actress-turned-wife of populist leader president Juan Peron.

The musical was recently revived at the London Palladium , starring Rachel Zegler as Eva, the first lady of Argentina, who was idolised as a “champion of the poor” and helped women obtain the right to vote.

“I think that the story of Evita is really even more relevant today than it may have been at the time,” Lord Lloyd-Webber told the PA news agency

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