SINGER SPARKLES WITH PASSION.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Critic

Cuban chanteuse Omara Portuondo is something to be marveled at even as the law of diminishing returns sets in for other members of the Buena Vista Social Club franchise.

Portuondo, who came to global prominence on that band's first album and in Wim Wenders' Oscar-nominated documentary of the same name, unleashed her rich, creamy voice on a repertoire of bittersweet boleros Friday at UCLA's Royce Hall for a full audience plainly awed by the flamboyant 70-year-old singer.

With tempered passion, Portuondo delivered these golden-era Cuban songs of lost love and regret backed by an exquisite orchestra fueled by glorious brass and rhythm sections.

Portuondo's elegant 90-minute Spanish-only set moved comfortably from upbeat salsa-tinged numbers to warm ballads like ``Veinte Anos,'' performed in a different, slower arrangement than the version found on the ``Buena Vista Social Club'' disc.

Despite her age, Portuondo is a spritely, charming presence on stage and her movements and mannerisms helped dramatize the material, which was mostly taken from her lush solo album on World Circuit/Nonesuch, the latest in the label's Buena Vista series.

By about the fourth number, the normally staid Royce Hall was sizzling like Havana's infamous Tropicana nightclub, where Portuondo - who will also appear Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl - has performed for 50 years.

Opening the show was lute player Barbarito Torres and his band, which played in a more traditional Cuban folkloric style. Torres, a contributor to the Buena Vista album as well as the recordings of the Afro Cuban All Stars, was enjoyable, but his music lacked the compelling pathos of Portuondo's.

OMARA PORTUONDO

Where: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood.

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $23 to $80.

Information: [phone].

Our rating: Four stars

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Omara Portuondo brings her Cuban ballads to the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, after wowing a Royce Hall audience.