Last week Aylesbury’s eye-catching new theatre opened with a kaleidoscopic explosion of fireworks outdoors, and Northern Ballet’s Swan Lake on stage. This week and next, the Waterside presents its first musical — Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita. So how does the show’s iconic song Don’t Cry for Me Argentina fare in this brand-new environment?

The answer is that it packs a powerful punch, as sung here by Abigail Jaye (right), playing Eva Perón. The Waterside’s auditorium is lined with wood, and I suspect that this enhances the crystal clarity of her voice.

Jaye is good at adding tenderness where required, but excellent at employing an almost metallic tone to emphasise the fact that Eva was a master at cynically manipulating both her husband and the crowds she addressed — now represented by the theatre audience. You don’t half believe the line “I’d be surprisingly good for you,” when Eva delivers it in tones that chillingly mix seduction and steel.

Jaye is also very good at ageing her character as Eva rises to First Lady of Argentina from a career as a nightclub singer who doesn’t hesitate to flip up her skirt.

Meanwhile, Mark Heenehan gives a convincing account of Eva’s husband, President Perón. At first seeming stiff and buttoned up, he tellingly reveals his emotions when his volatile marriage threatens to disintegrate. His love bursts forth as Eva lies dying: the final scenes are very moving. Narrating throughout is Che Guevara, played by Mark Powell: fleet of voice and foot, Powell cleverly manages to combine a lively, almost jokey, approach with serious comment: “How long do you think this pantomime can last?” he asks Eva sourly at one point.

Chorus and band work (musical director David Steadman) are first rate: the words are clear, and Bill Deamer’s choreography is executed with enthusiastic precision. This is altogether a worthy and spectacular first musical for the Waterside.

n Until October 30. Tickets: 0844 871 7607 (www.ambassadortickets.com/aylesbury).