ROCIO JURADO GOES FOR THE SENTIMENTAL

Spanish star Rocio Jurado’s concert Sunday at the Universal Amphitheatre underscored some of the cliches of Spanish-language pop music: a suffocatingly melodramatic performance style and highly sentimental music designed to go straight for the jugular.

Not that Jurado, nor opening act, Dyango--another Spanish pop singer--aren’t good at what they do. Both are capable singers who convey a dynamic presence that brought the near-capacity audience to its feet several times. This sense of stage mastery was especially evident with Jurado, who has registered scores of concert, film and recording accomplishments over the last 20 years.

The audience was captivated by the fiery redhead the moment she walked onto the stage--through a cloud of smoke. When the air finally cleared, she stood: glamorous in a platinum-white sequined gown, her arms outstretched, offering herself to her fans while soaking up the applause.

Nearly everything Jurado attempted from that point on merely demonstrated the limited range of her heart-wrenching, cliche-ridden romantic ballads. Thankfully, there were exceptions. An elegant interlude of flamenco singing with guitar and flute accompaniment allowed a glimpse of the contemporary flamenco singing style with which Jurado has long been identified.

And the selections from her latest LP, “Paloma Brava” (Fierce Dove), also reflected the continuing changes in the image of the Latin American and Spanish woman.