DANBURY — Musicals at Richter has hit the ground running for its 41st season of performances with Evita. The season opener runs through July 19.

With lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita centers on the life of Eva Perón (played by Jazzy Cores), a young and ambitious woman who rose from poverty to political power as the First Lady of Argentina. Her journey is presented by the show’s narrator, Che (Gabriel Montanaro), who embodies the Argentine everyman and is part scathing critic, part compassionate onlooker to Eva. Audiences watch as Eva transforms from a poor girl dreaming of a better life to darling actress to love of military leader-turned-president Juan Perón (Michael Solano) before her death at age 33.

The cast and crew of Musicals at Richter carry their passion into Evita just as they have with previous other productions. The strong performances, joined by gorgeous costuming, beautiful lighting, and vibrant live music accompaniment, make Evita another triumph for Musicals at Richter.

While Che narrates the show, Eva is the show’s focal point and emotional center. To that end, Cores makes a fantastic Eva, dancing between excitement and vulnerability, wit and anger, and confidence and sorrow throughout the entire runtime.

She sells Eva’s genuine excitement in “Buenos Aires,” where her dreams of being a part of the “Buenos Aires, big apple” are finally realized. Cores dances across the stage with confidence just as Eva dances up the social ladder.

It’s that emotional flexibility that makes her vulnerable, solemn moments all the more hard hitting. “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” is already a standout number from the show, but Cores’s gorgeous vocals elevate the song and its gentle, flowing strings and piano to make a truly hard-hitting moment, and equally impactful performance overall.

Montanaro is perfectly cast as Che. From the moment he enters the show — coming out from the aisle while singing — it’s clear Montanaro commands the stage the way Che needs to as the show’s narrator.

His raw, expressive vocals carry the cynicism he often has for Eva and her choices in life, as well as his passion and love for Argentina. This conflict comes to a head in “Waltz for Eva and Che,” where he and Cores share a biting back and forth as their characters’ beliefs clash against each other.

Che’s presence is the undercurrent of the show. Even in moments or numbers when he takes a backseat, Che is placed off to the side of the stage with his arms crossed as he looks on to the events happening around him. Che looms over the narrative thanks to Montanaro’s charismatic performance.

Solano is a fantastic fit for Juan. His strong lower register reflects the cold and commanding authority Juan has over the show’s other characters. That authority is shown in numbers such as “The Art of the Possible,” where he is competing for power with other military figures in a literal and metaphorical game of military chairs.

Solano as Juan, having beat his competition, relaxes in his chair at the end and raises his cap, as if surpassing other military figures was not at all difficult. He carries that same authoritative disposition throughout the show, but it truly melts in the scenes he shares with Eva.

Their relationship truly coalesces in “Dice are Rolling,” where Eva and Juan are literally and metaphorically distant, their bed split in half and on different sides of the stage. Juan breaks the separation and crosses over to Eva’s side, where Solano’s hints of vulnerability add an extra layer of complexity to his character.

Those same smart set choices can be seen throughout the show. The two-tiered stage is used for many fun moments, from “Goodnight and Thank You,” where it acts as a balcony for Eva and her rotating lovers, to “On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada,” where Eva descends the stairs in a dazzling white dress adorned with glittering silver jewels.

The cast and crew use the stage to their own benefit and help moments like that stick with the audience once they leave the outdoor theater.

On that note, the costuming and set design are really beautiful. There is Eva’s aforementioned dress for “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” but her outfits all reflect where she is as a character and who she wants to be throughout the show. The put-together and formal outfit we see her change into in “Rainbow High” mirrors her wanting to be as confident and appealing to Europe as she is to Argentina. Seeing her stripped of that glamor toward the end of the show, as cancer starts to debilitate her, hits hard because the audience knows how beautiful and driven she once was.

The casual clothes for the ensemble — especially when representing the average Argentine — are colorful and authentic to the 1934-1952 time period the show takes place in. They look good regardless of who they depict in a scene, from soldiers criticizing Eva in blue military uniforms to maids helping Eva get ready for her tour.

It feels like there was a lot of consideration when it came to the set design, too, as the walls also look very authentic to Argentine architecture.

The theater’s new modern lighting truss system allows for a lot of dynamic lighting moments, particularly with the use of vibrant pinks or cool blues to match the tone of the scene. The limited lighting in “Eva’s Final Broadcast” is yet another way of the production showing how Eva does not have much time left.

One would be remiss to not mention the other amazingly talented people in the show’s cast. There is Magaldi (Thomas Koo), whose actor perfectly captures the charm he needs in “On This Night of a Thousand Stars,” to Juan’s Mistress (Lauren Dattilo), who only gets one number but runs with the character’s fragility and confusion at where to go next in “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.” These are the big moments for each respective character, and the actors do such a great job that it’s difficult for the audience to not want more of them.

Musicals at Richter’s production of Evita, thanks to the direction and staging by Donald E. Birely, is more than worth checking out.

Performances continue Friday through Sunday evening at 8 pm until Saturday, July 19. An ASL interpretation will be offered during the Sunday, July 13 performance, and an additional, specially discounted performance is planned for Thursday, July 17.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors (65+) and students (with ID), and $15 for children 10 and under. For July 17 tickets are $25, $20 and $10, respectively. Audience members are encouraged to take chairs and blankets for lawn seating. Visit musicalsatrichter.org for reservations and additional information.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.