www.nortecastilla.es, 30 de Octubre de 2007
Tres grandes figuras del fado, Mariza, nominada a un premio Grammy por su álbum 'Concierto en Lisboa' (2006); Camané, que ha coronado su importante carrera de 25 años con el espectáculo 'Como sempre... como dantes' y recibido el premio Amalia Rodrigues en la categoría de Mejor Cantante Masculino de Fados; y Carlos do Carmo, 'embajador' de esta música a lo largo de más de cuarenta años, se darán cita en el Auditorio Miguel Delibes de Valladolid el próximo viernes 14 de noviembre. Considerados los mejores cantantes del fado actual, este trío 'de conveniencia' ofrecerá, a partir de las 21.00 horas, un espectáculo, inspirado en la película 'Fados', de Carlos Saura.
El lunes 12 actuarán en el Teatro Albéniz de Madrid y el viernes 16 en el Auditorio de Galicia de Santiago de Compostela. Tras su debut en el Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián, donde apoyaron con este espectáculo el filme de Saura, estas tres son las únicas actuaciones previstas...
'Fados' completa la trilogía de la canción urbana moderna que ha querido hacer Saura, después de 'Flamenco' (1995) y 'Tango' (1998). Tras más de dos años de investigación sobre el fado, Carlos Saura ha dado con este trabajo un salto importante en su aproximación al musical. Si en los musicales anteriores, 'Iberia', 'Flamenco', 'Tango'..., Saura se apoyaba en la danza, en 'Fados' realiza un esfuerzo argumental en el que refleja el nacimiento de la música arrabalera, portuaria, que es en sí misma una síntesis de todas las músicas nacidas a fines del XIX.
Mariza, Carlos do Carmo y Camané
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
www.laopinion.com, 30 de Octubre de 2007
Durante el concierto que ofreció el domingo pasado en el Walt Disney Concert Hall, Mariza le explicó a la audiencia que el fado – el género musical más importante de Portugal – no se enseña en ninguna escuela, por lo que es necesario aprenderlo en la calle. Es probable que la misma cantante haya empezado a entonar las hermosas y tristes melodías del llamado "blues portugués" sin necesidad de tener tras de sí academia alguna, como ella misma lo dice. Pero lo cierto es que su nivel vocal actual es tan impresionante que parece ser la consecuencia de una formación mucho más perfeccionista, llevada probablemente a cabo durante los años recientes.
La excusa para este show – que no es el primero que la intérprete ofrece en Los Ángeles, donde tiene siempre una excelente recepción – era la nominación a un Grammy Latino dentro de la categoría de Mejor Álbum Folklórico por su más reciente producción, Concerto em Lisboa, una fastuosa grabación en vivo que se llevó a cabo con el acompañamiento de la Orquesta Sinfónica de la citada ciudad. En el Disney Hall, la cantante no tuvo a su lado a la numerosa agrupación musical que la secundó durante el registro de la placa nominada, sino que llegó únicamente acompañada por cuatro músicos: un encargado de la guitarra portuguesa (parecida a la mandolina); otro en la guitarra clásica; un tercero en el bajo acústico, y el último como intérprete de diversos instrumentos de percusión. En realidad, este formato la acercó mucho más al estilo original del fado, una impresión que se vio reforzada por la disposición exclusiva que se le dio al auditorio.
En esta ocasión, y a solicitud de la misma Mariza, el afamado arquitecto Frank Gehry (creador del edificio del Disney Hall) rediseñó el espacio correspondiente al escenario, que generalmente alberga sólo a los músicos, para colocar 13 mesas con público, reproduciendo con ello el ambiente que existe en una de esas "tabernas" portuguesas en las que solían presentarse los artistas más representativos del género.
Como ocurre con todo estilo tradicional, los puristas del fado no se han encontrado nunca satisfechos con las modificaciones que los artistas contemporáneos realizan, y Mariza no ha sido una excepción a la regla. Sin embargo, durante el concierto del domingo, quedó bastante claro que la joven vocalista se encuentra realmente identificada con el género, ya que llegó incluso a interpretar varios segmentos musicales de manera completamente unplugged (desenchufada), haciendo que sus instrumentistas apagaran los amplificadores y dejando su propio micrófono de lado. En momentos así – como sucedió durante la interpretación de Primavera –, Mariza exhibió a plenitud el impresionante virtuosismo de una voz que se elevó con facilidad por encima de todos los presentes sin necesidad de verse reforzada por ningún artilugio electrónico, y que además de mostrar una potencia y un brillo dignos de admiración, transmitió una calidez sentimental muy dramática, pero nunca excesiva.
La europea se comunicó de manera muy fluida con la audiencia, demostrando un gran dominio del inglés. A pesar del tono generalmente triste y melancólico de su música – con algunas excepciones, como las alegres piezas María Lisboa y Recusa –, exhibió un sentido del humor que fue ampliamente celebrado por los asistentes, a pesar de que muchos de ellos insistían en mantener sobre las gradas un silencio sepulcral, propio de la ópera y no de un espectáculo de música popular.
Como era de esperar, Mariza fue la estrella más brillante de la noche, dando cuenta de una destreza jazzística que la llevó a crear pausas instrumentales en medio de las canciones para interpretar segmentos vocales a capella. Empleó también el silencio como una herramienta dramática, como sucedió durante la interpretación de una vibrante versión en español de Há uma música do povo (…). Pero le dio también cabida al talento de sus músicos – todos ellos notables –, quienes actuaron muchas veces al mismo tiempo durante las canciones, pero que también tuvieron la oportunidad de acompañar de manera individual a la cantante. Eso fue lo que ocurrió justamente en el memorable intercambio entre Mariza y Luis Guerreiro (excelente intérprete de la guitarra portuguesa) que se dio durante el tema Duas lágrimas de orvalho. Los músicos tuvieron también una pieza instrumental entera para impresionar al público con sus destrezas.
Con su encanto y su devoción por las viejas costumbres, Mariza habría podido satisfacer a los puristas de haberse encontrado estos presentes; pero es probable que no hubiera ocurrido lo mismo si los conservadores de la tradición hubieran apreciado los últimos momentos de la velada. Y es que fue entonces cuando la joven portuguesa dejó de lado el género de sus amores para entonar una inesperada versión de Summertime – la popular pieza creada por el famoso compositor estadounidense George Gershwin –, con la que terminó por convencer a los extasiados concurrentes de que su portentosa voz se presta para cualquier género de respecto. En el idioma y en el lugar que sean.
Novo álbum na Primavera
Diário Digital / Lusa
www.diariodigital.sapo.pt, 25 de Outubro de 2007
O novo álbum de Mariza, ainda sem título, estará nas discotecas entre Maio e Junho próximos e será produzido por Javier Limón, anunciou hoje a editora da artista.
Este será o quarto álbum de originais da cantora, que, no próximo dia 08 de Novembro, se apresentará no Pavilhão Atlântico, em Lisboa, com Carlos do Carmo, Tito Paris, Ivan Lins e Filipe Mukenga. Segundo a World Connection, a editora da artista, Mariza «entrará em estúdio no príncipio do próximo ano».
O produtor espanhol Javier Limón tornou-se conhecido pelo seu trabalho com o pianista cubano Bebo Valdés e o cantor de flamenco Diego «El Cigala». Limón foi distinguido com o Grammy Latino do Melhor Produtor em 2004, pelo seu disco «Lágrimas negras» com aqueles dois artistas. Além de produtor, Limón é também compositor de flamenco e o seu trabalho tem chamado à atenção da crítica especializada. O seu nome está ligado aos álbuns «Cositas buenas», de Paco de Lucía, «Niño Josele», e «La rosa blanca», de Montse Cortés.
Mariza conquistou já vários prémios internacionais, nomeadamente o World Music BBC Rádio 3 Award para a Melhor Artista da Europa, em 2005. O seu primeiro álbum, «Fado em mim», produzido por Jorge Fernando, e o segundo, «Fado curvo», produzido por Carlos Maria Trindade, receberam o Deutscheschalplaten Kritk, prémio da crítica alemã. «Fado em mim» recebeu ainda, em 2004, o European Border Breaker Award, no MIDEM (Mercado Internacional do Disco e da Música) em Cannes.
Este ano, a artista editou o CD «Concerto em Lisboa», que regista o seu espectáculo realizado em 2006 nos Jardins da Torre de Belém em Lisboa. O disco é candidato aos Grammy Latinos deste ano na categoria de Melhor Álbum de Música Folclórica. O veredicto será conhecido precisamente a 08 de Novembro, dia em que a criadora de «Cavaleiro monge» (Fernando Pessoa/Mário Pacheco) actua em Lisboa no Pavilhão Atlântico.
Harris Theater, Chicago
Chicago Sun-Times, October 18, 2007
It is rare to begin a review with a mention of the encore. But the song that Portuguese fado singer Mariza performed in the wake of a standing ovation Tuesday night at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance was an exceptional choice. And she brought such magic to her interpretation of it that it might just be the ideal place to start when talking about this striking and original artist – an exotic, willowy woman with close-cropped platinum hair, an octaves-spanning voice, musical daring and easy dramatic flair.
As Mariza explained, audiences here often ask if she can sing fado – music that takes its name from the Portuguese word for "fate" or "destiny" – in English. And of course, as she explained with a laugh, that would not be possible. But she had found something close – the Gershwins' "Summertime," from "Porgy and Bess." And she proceeded to give that bluesy, jazzy, quasi-operatic song a brilliant rendering.
It was the ideal topper for all that came before – a program that featured many of the traditional songs fans of this 33-year-old international star has sung on her recordings, including her most recent, "Transparente."
Born in Mozambique, Mariza began singing at the age of 5 in her family's little Lisbon taverna, and she manages to keep the intimacy of a neighborhood spot while also reaching out directly to those in a large hall.
Although fado is often described as the Portuguese equivalent of the blues, it is more – particularly as Mariza performs it. She is certainly in the chanson tradition of Piaf and even the more contemporary Ute Lemper. And you can hear the sure influence of an African beat, some jazz stylings, a hint of samba and even a touch of Mexican ranchero.
Mariza also is an easy mood spinner, whether offering a stirring take on "Chuva" ("Rain"), or the wildly celebratory, dance-filled "Maria Lisboa," or the gentle, childlike "Há uma música do povo" ("There's a song of the people"), or the fierce, clarion cry of "Barco Negro" ("Black Boat"), or the horselike rhythms and echoes of "Cavalerio Monge" ("Monk Rider"), a song from the southwestern region of Portugal.
Mariza's bravura musicians are a show all by themselves, including Luis Guerreiro (Portuguese guitar), Antonio Neto (acoustic guitar), Vasco Sousa (acoustic bass) and Joao Pedro Ruela (percussion).
Though perhaps not as elaborate as her upcoming concert in Los Angeles (where architect Frank Gehry, a great fan, will create a taverna inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall), the Harris concert – with Mariza resplendent in a black dress that looked folkloric with bright ribbon insets and a great jet bead necklace – had its own allure.
The Fadista of Lisbon
by Kevin Raub
www.americanwaymag.com, October 15, 2007
Her beauty stops you in your tracks. Her voice causes grown men to cry. Combine the two, and you have the unstoppable force that is Mariza — the woman who has made Portuguese fado cool again.
INSIDE A WORKING-CLASS Portuguese seafood joint in the suburbs of Lisbon, the young woman who currently lays claim to the most famous musical face in Portugal is easy to spot. Not because she doesn’t belong in such a simple place as this. Quite the contrary. She is extremely unpretentious, insistent upon doing her own grocery shopping and unafraid of getting down and dirty with a little traditional seafood. The reality is that this 33-year-old superstar would stand out in any room. Her striking features, born of a Portuguese father and a Mozambican mother, are in direct contrast with nearly everyone else’s you stumble across in Portugal (and in any of its former colonies). And her name, Mariza, has become synonymous with a musical revolution.
“Are you ready to eat the snails?” It’s the first thing she says to me, this woman who’s one of Portugal’s most admired voices, an artist who sells more records in her country than Madonna and whose voice commands silence upon first note. But, really, that’s not what startles me. Rather, it’s her boyishly short, pressed platinum-blond hair, which is shockingly unique by Portuguese standards. It clashes with her bronzed skin and dark eyebrows, creating a sense of beautiful chaos within the circles she runs, ones that revolve around fado — Portugal’s haunting genre of musical poetry that’s drenched in sadness. She stops me in my tracks, despite my having seen plenty of photos and videos in preparation for this moment, and I haven’t even heard her sing a note yet.
Fado, which means “destiny,” is such an indispensable part of the Portuguese culture that you may wonder whether the country would have just acquiesced to Spain were it not for the people’s fierce devotion to their national maudlin melodies. Though fado’s history remains debated to this day, the general belief is that the musical form — usually sung by a male or female vocalist (known as a fadista) who’s accompanied by the melancholic sounds of the unique fat-bellied 12-string Portuguese guitar — was developed by Portuguese sailors who were influenced by Brazilian and African sounds during their travels. It’s complicated to explain, but the gist is that there are 300 or so instrumental fados, from which a head-spinning number of new combinations can be created, depending on the chosen lyrics and metrics (quadras are four rhymes, quintilhas are five, and so on, up to 12 rhymes). Sonically, fado is mesmerizing poetry set to a sentimental soundtrack, and it captivates anyone within earshot. Imagine hearing a gut-wrenching eulogy set to music during the funeral of the most beautiful woman in the world, and you’ll have an inkling of what fado sounds like. The Portuguese have such an emotional attachment to their national song that it’s not uncommon for tears to be shed during performances, even when the fados are happy ones.
Walking the streets of Lisbon, I find the country’s history palpable. After all, Portugal was the last European country to go modern. Today, it remains one of the most richly preserved European capitals, despite having been brought to its knees by an earthquake, a tsunami, and a devastating fire — all on the same tragic day in 1755. The city was rebuilt by the Marquess of Pombal, whose architectural style (known as Pombaline) still permeates Lisbon’s crotchety old streets. The city’s two most historically significant neighborhoods, the once Moorish Alfama, with its mesmerizing Arab-influenced mazes of hillside staircases and twisting alleyways, and the tough, blue-collar Mouraria, where Mariza’s parents settled after moving to Portugal from Mozambique when she was only three years old, are where fado has thrived for two centuries. Today, though, the bulk of the fado clubs are in Alfama and Bairro Alto, which has cobblestoned thoroughfares so narrow that even Smart cars can’t navigate the tight walls.
In Mouraria, Mariza’s parents owned a small tavern and hosted fado singers on the weekends. By the age of five, Mariza was singing before a live audience — having had no formal fado lessons. But fadistas will tell you that fado can’t be taught at all. Lessons? Get out! You either have it inside you, or you don’t; it’s something that’s passed on from generation to generation. And though she spent a decade in various singing gigs (including a cheesy cover party band in Lisbon called Funkytown, and belting out bossa nova on a Portuguese cruise ship in Brazil), Mariza had it in her. I would spend several days with her before realizing just what that meant, but Lisbon found out one day back in 1999.
Mariza was having a late-night meal at a tavern when an older, steadfastly traditional fado poet approached. “He said to me, ‘You don’t know how to sing fado. You only sing in English,’ ” she recalls. “It hurt me. I was feeling really bad. I said, ‘I know how to do it. I’ll prove it.’ There was a musician with us, and I asked him if he knew any fado. He only knew one song in one tune. I said, ‘Okay. Play it.’ I sang, and the poet looked at me and started crying, saying ‘Whatever day you want, I will receive you in my fado house.’ ” Mariza turned him down at first, still smarting from his earlier comment. But friends kept pushing her to accept his offer to appear at his professional fado house, Senhor Vinho, and she eventually acquiesced. She seized a Monday-night slot, and it didn’t take long before the peanut gallery was in an uproar. Until that point, fado had been a staunchly conventional art form best known around the world through the classic voice of Amália Rodrigues, an archetypal Portuguese beauty (long, dark hair; a slightly portly figure; customary dress) who remains the undisputed queen of fado after nearly a century of work. (She died in 1999 at the age of 79.)
Mariza was anything but a typical fadista. Her hair was artificially blond, and she stood out like a pop star at an Amish wedding. She was young, tall, and skinny. She wore Prada over practicality. She turned heads everywhere she went, so you can imagine what happened when she first appeared on television. “Suddenly, here in Portugal, Amália died,” she remembers. “I appeared on television around the same time, and boom! I don’t know what happened. My album was released, and suddenly it was triple platinum in Portugal. Everybody was crazy, and I was like, ‘What is happening?’ ”
That was five years and three albums ago, and Mariza has quickly become not just the new face of fado but also the impetus behind its miraculous reinvention as cool, which was no small task. Portugal’s Estado Novo, the authoritarian military regime that ruled the country for an astonishing 41 years, controlled the airwaves during its reign, and fado was endorsed and encouraged. Needless to say, music forced down the throats of a resentful population can’t possibly be considered hip. “During the regime, we only had one television station, and they treated fado very poorly,” she explains. “So the younger intellectuals and more sophisticated audiences would see it and say, ‘This is not my style.’ It was too connected with the regime, and people harbored those memories.” As a result, anyone born in the late ’60s or after considered fado the music of their parents — a deathblow in any culture. But nowadays, when you step inside the Fnac record store in Lisbon’s trendy Chiado district, you’ll see Mariza’s latest album, Concerto em Lisboa, in the top 10, alongside those by Madonna and Kelly Clarkson. She has sold more than a million records worldwide (an insane number for a world-music artist). In the same way that Nirvana chewed up and spit out rock music in the ’90s, Mariza has jump-started fado.
Mariza counts performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2004 at the then newly opened Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. as one of the proudest moments in her life to date. (Currently on tour in the United States, she’ll have the opportunity to perform there again at the end of this month, with award-winning architect Frank Gehry turning the stage into a cozy fado tavern just for her.) She’s just as proud, though, of a fado megaconcert she gave in Lisbon in 2005. The recording of that concert is her latest release. “If you invite someone from fado to do a concert in an open-air space in Lisbon, you don’t [normally] get more than 5,000 people,” she explains. “I asked the municipality to let me do a concert in the gardens of Belém. It was raining that day, and I was crying over it. I didn’t think we would get anyone. When I entered the stage, there were 22,000 people [there]. It was the biggest fado concert ever in Portugal.” Concerto em Lisboa chronicles that evening.
Like most Americans, I don’t know fado from Play-Doh, so Mariza agrees to play tour guide for a day and teach me everything there is to know about her music, her city, and the fado clubs that are such an intrinsically significant part of life in Lisbon — and a major tourist attraction to boot. But which clubs are tourist traps, and which are the real deal? The country’s biggest fadista should know, after all.
We fuel up for our journey at yet another hole-in-the-wall seafood spot, Churrasqueira do Sacramento, in the Alcântra neighborhood of Lisbon. It’s packed with people clamoring for one of but a few tables in the place. They are used to Mariza here, so nobody bats an eyelash at her presence. And that’s the way she prefers it. “It’s very normal,” she says. “That’s why I like it.” She fends off the manager’s advances to take her coat for her and throws it around the back of her chair, just like everybody else in the restaurant has done. When we finish our meal, we are within walking distance of the Museu do Fado, the fado museum. It’s normally closed on Mondays, but they open up at the first sight of Mariza, who views the museum as the logical starting point for those interested in submersing themselves in Portugal’s most beloved form of expression. Mariza’s albums and awards are housed here (her 2003 BBC Radio World Music Award, for instance), alongside those of Amália and other big-name players like Carlos do Carmo, yet she breezes right by them in favor of showing me a three-dimensional painting called Viela (Alley), Rua Pimentel 1998, a reconstruction of what a typical Lisbon neighborhood looked like hundreds of years ago. That’s when I hear my first few notes. “Sardinhas Vivas!” she sings, describing how an old woman, such as one of those depicted in the painting, would shout out “Live sardines!” to let the neighborhood know what she was selling. It is surely the most beautiful touting of a small salty fish that I’ve ever heard.
Later that evening, our first stop is, naturally, Senhor Vinho, the fado club where Mariza got her start. She is welcomed with open arms — though the up-and-coming fadistas on tonight’s bill must surely have started shaking in their boots when she came through the door. In America, the equivalent would be Shania Twain walking into a small country bar in Nashville on an open-mike night. The first singer is Filipa Cardoso, a traditional fadista who has more in common with Amália than with Mariza. Then, the moment she begins to sing, a startling thing happens: though dinner is being served, all knives and forks drop, all conversations cease, and all drink orders are put on hold — the room becomes as silent as a prayer session at the Vatican. Of all the things I’ve ever seen in Lisbon, it’s this show of respect that I will always find most endearing.
Despite chants of “Ma-ri-za! Ma-ri-za!” from a table of drunk Spaniards, Mariza does not get up and sing. Instead, we move on to A Tasca do Chico in the Bairro Alto, Lisbon’s nightlife hub and the home to many fado clubs, all of which pale in comparison to this one. Unlike most fado venues, A Tasca do Chico is a dive. The walls are covered in soccer banners, and the place is spilling over with people from all walks of life. Locals love it because anyone can sing fado here — it’s a free-for-all — and Mariza loves it for the same reason. It’s not uncommon for taxi drivers to roll in, sing a few fados, then get right back into their cabs and speed off into the night. We pile into the old-school wooden picnic tables and join a family as if this sort of thing happens every day. If Mariza’s presence can make the professionals nervous, imagine how the amateurs feel when she’s around. One woman in her mid-30s starts her fado but soon chokes up. She apologizes and quickly loses herself back in the crowd, claiming nervousness. Another forgets the lyrics; another sings completely out of tune. Partly due to the raucous nature of the club, partly due to Mariza’s visit, the place is so loud that you can hardly hear yourself think. People are turned away, as the club is at capacity (and probably then some). The MC lays down the law: “No silence, no fado,” he says. “You choose.” (There are no mikes in fado.) The crowd settles down for Artur Batalha, a formerly successful fadista whose career was on the up-and-up in the ’80s but who later fell victim to the vices of fame. His voice still has the goods, though. Before he sings, he looks at Mariza; the two of them hail from the same working-class Lisbon neighborhood. “It’s a pleasure to see an artist in person whom I love.” He calls her a daughter. Mariza sings along to his fados under her breath. The night is winding down, but the crowd wants more. They want Mariza. The MC once again hushes the crowd. “So you will go home in peace,” he says, “Mariza!” She calmly slides out from the table to the roar of the crowd, briefly consults with the guitarists, and seconds later, without so much as a single moment of warm-up, she launches into “Quando Me Sinto Só” (“When I Feel Alone”), from her last studio album, Transparente. Her voice soars and captivates, radiating through the roughened walls with piercing delicacy. The room is frozen. Though nobody has much space to do so, they give her a standing ovation. Batalha, sitting nearby, bows his head, covers his eyes, and holds his hand over his heart. In peace he goes, as do we all.
Entrevista a Mariza
Correio da Manhã, 17 de Outubro de 2007
Mariza foi a primeira artista portuguesa a actuar no ‘David Letterman Show’, um dos mais importantes programas televisivos norte-americanos. Dia 28, Los Angeles vai vê-la e ouvi-la num palco com cenário de Frank Gehry
Correio da Manhã – Pelas gravações do programa vê-se que o David Letterman ficou impressionado ao ouvi-la. Sabe se foi a primeira vez que ele ouviu Fado?
Mariza – Não tenho a certeza, mas pareceu-me que sim. Mas foi a primeira vez que um artista português actuou no seu programa, no ar há mais de 25 anos.
– Tem ideia de qual foi a audiência naquela noite?
– Fala-se em 30 milhões, só em território norte-americano!
– O que lhe disse o Letterman após o final do programa?
– Mostrou-se impressionado. Acho que as suas palavras foram “Oh my God! Incredible!” (‘Ó meu Deus! Incrível’). Depois, agradeceu-me a participação no programa, disse que tinha gostado muito e que achou “beautiful” (‘lindo’)! Foi muito simpático!
– Sentiu algum retorno especial depois dessa actuação?
– Sim, bastante. O mais curioso aconteceu nas ruas de Nova Iorque onde, no dia seguinte, várias pessoas me abordaram para me congratular pela actuação.
– Como tem estado a digressão pelos EUA?
– Já é o sexto ano que fazemos digressão por estes lados, por isso, tem sido uma evolução natural e contínua. Nesta tournée, principalmente nas grandes salas como o Carnegie Hall, o público já não veio à descoberta e as reacções são mais emotivas: sinto-me um pouco como se estivesse em casa!
– A tournée acaba dia 28, no Disney Concert Hall, cujo cenário (uma taberna lisboeta) é de Frank Gehry. Como surgiu esta colaboração? Já viu o trabalho acabado?
– O Frank prefere uma surpresa, ou seja ainda não vi nada! Há uns meses encontrámo-nos em Los Angeles, ele explicou-me o que pretendia fazer e perguntou se eu concordava! Tem até uma certa piada, o ‘Picasso’ da arquitectura pedir a minha opinião! Claro que lhe disse que aceitava todas as suas sugestões.
– É verdade que ele também assina o vestido?
– Não, preferiu que eu escolhesse dois estilistas portugueses. Disse só que gostava de um preto com cores e um prateado! Pelo que pedi ao João Rôlo e à Fátima Lopes para os desenhar. Esses já conheço, e são lindíssimos!
– Como se sente em relação à nomeação para o Grammy?
The Late Show
Ó GENTE DA MINHA TERRA
(Amália Rodrigues / Tiago Machado)
Mariza at The Late Show with David Letterman
CBS Television, USA / 11th October 2007
Zeiterion Arts Center, New Bedford
www.ojornal.com, October 12, 2007
It was absolutely stunning. The Angel of Fado began moving across the stage, and her audience was immediately put into a trance. Mariza had them at "Good evening New Bedford. Boa noite Portugal." The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center completely surrendered to the artist who has brought "fado into modernity." The Latin Grammy nominated fado singer opened the Zeiterion's 2007 – 2008 season this past weekend with two performances.
"There is no one better to be opening for us tonight than Mariza," said Katherine Knowles, the Zeiterion's Executive Director. "I felt that it was important to honor the largest community group in our area." The welcoming honors then fell to Portuguese Consul Fernanda Coelho, who described Mariza as being the greatest contemporary fado singer and explained to the audience that although they might not understand her words they would "understand the meaning and the emotions she expresses." And as the sounds of "Loucura" began to resonate – played by a Portuguese guitar, an acoustic guitar and bass and enveloped by a screen of soft red and blue lights – Mariza seamlessly appeared on stage, as if floating with her long black dress highlighted with multi-colored rings.
Each song carried by her melodic voice was accentuated by the intermittence of silence and then Mariza's perfect delivery, which pierced the audience entrapped in an unfolding musical play. Mariza's stage presence put her audience in the present. Throughout her performance, she explained fado to them, speaking mostly in English for the first part of the show. She then apologized for not speaking Portuguese sooner, thanked all the Portuguese who were present and explained in Portuguese that "in order to connect with our guests I'm obliged to speak in my sad and poor English."
Mariza called herself a "lucky girl" for growing up in one of the most traditional neighborhoods in Lisbon – Mouraria – and singing since the age of five in her parents' tavern, which held fado sessions on weekends. During an extended conversation with the audience, a fan brought up a long black shawl, which Mariza immediately placed across her shoulders, as she was walked off the stage for a "guitarrada" (instrumental).
Throughout her show she paid homage to her heroes – from poet Fernando Pessoa to fado singer Carlos do Carmo and the Diva of Fado, Amália Rodrigues. The fans didn't want to lose the moment and Mariza was called that Saturday night three times back to the stage. And in one of those callbacks – a superb moment – she brought the house to an absolute stand still. In the middle of the stage, the lights dimmed even more, and she explained that she would sing fado in the most traditional of ways. Now adorned with the fan's shawl, she took off her ear monitors, the guitarists approached her and stood up resting their legs on a percussion box. Without the use of microphones Mariza's voice coupled the resonance of the guitars to completely envelop the Zeiterion and its audience.
Well after the house had cleared, Dom Lamas was still in his seat, as if in a trance. "Her performance was... magnificent," said Lamas, who saw Mariza perform in Washington D.C. during her last U.S tour. "The fact that she took off the mike and made everyone be very attentive... it made the atmosphere be like that of an old tavern in Lisbon." Following the concert, a small reception was held at the Portuguese Consulate in New Bedford. It was attended by about three dozen community leaders.
"Her performance was very sophisticated, her presentation was outstanding and her voice was amazing," said Mayor Scott W. Lang. "It was probably one of the top performances since I've been coming to the Z since 1983. When she sang without her mike, I was afraid that she was going to hurt her voice. But she said that her voice is exactly trained for that."
Knowles was absolutely enthusiastic with Mariza's performance and her show of passion and humanity. She mentioned that during the car ride from the Zeiterion to the Consulate office Mariza was very appreciative of such a warm reception and interaction with the audience. Mariza made her way greeting and taking pictures with her fans at the reception for about 15 minutes and then excused herself.
Consul Coelho's favorite moment was Mariza's performance of "Gente da Minha Terra." "She pays attention to the esthetics of her performance, and delivers positive messages to her audience," said Coelho. "She makes people proud of being Portuguese. And her show has a didactic quality, explaining to a wide audience what fado is and [about] our culture. She is really an ambassador of Portugal." "She wears fado in a different way," Coelho added.
Mariza no programa de David Letterman
Agência Lusa, 10 de Outubro de 2007
Mariza é uma das convidadas do "talk show" de David Letterman na quinta-feira em Nova Iorque, onde irá interpretar um dos temas do seu álbum mais recente, "Concerto em Lisboa".
O "Late Show with David Letterman" que este ano comemora os seus 25 anos, é um dos "talk shows" com maior audiência nos Estados Unidos. David Letterman é uma das figuras de topo da televisão norte-americana, constituindo com Jay Leno, do concorrente "Tonight Show", um dos "pesos pesados" deste género de programas. "Late Show With David Letterman" é transmitido de segunda a sexta-feira no canal CBS para todo o país. Em Nova Iorque, onde o "talk show" é gravado à tarde no célebre Ed Sullivan Theater, na Broadway, o programa é transmitido às 23:30.
Quinta-feira, além de Mariza serão convidados de David Letterman a actriz Anne Heche ("Men in trees") e Sue Johanson ("Sex talk"). Mariza irá interpretar um fado e falará do CD "Concerto em Lisboa" bem como desta canção urbana lisboeta, numa altura em que desperta grande interesse nos norte-americanos. A "world music", onde o fado é habitualmente englobado, é muito apreciada e acarinhada pelo público norte-maericano.
Mariza realiza actualmente uma digressão pela América do Norte que inclui 13 espectáculos nos Estados Unidos. Na sexta-feira, um dia depois de passar pelo programa de David Letterman, Mariza canta no Carnegie Hall, em Manhattan, onde se espera uma sala lotada.
A fadista participará ainda na apresentação no Walter Reade Theater, no Lincoln Center, do filme "Fados" de Carlos Saura que entre outros, conta com a sua participação. O filme é apresentado no âmbito do Festival de Cinema de Nova Iorque e além de Mariza estarão presentes os produtores Ivan Dias, Luís Galvão Teles e António Saura, representantes do Turismo de Portugal, João Salgueiro, embaixador de Portugal junto das Nações Unidas, e a gestora do Museu do Fado, Sara Pereira.
Depois de Nova Iorque, Mariza actuará em Nova Jérsia, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Dallas e em cinco cidades na Califórnia, incluindo o Disney Concert Hall, em Los Angeles, cujo palco terá como cenário uma taberna portuguesa, de autoria do arquitecto Frank Gehry.
'Fados' chega hoje aos ecrãs
Diário de Notícias, 4 de Outubro de 2007
São raros os filmes que geram polémica antes mesmo de rodada a primeira cena. Assim foi com Fados, projecto nascido de conversas de Carlos do Carmo e Ivan Dias (produtor) com o realizador espanhol Carlos Saura, que mereceu volumoso apoio de várias entidades oficiais, entre as quais a Câmara de Lisboa. Foi aí, no momento da discussão do encargo a assumir pela autarquia, que algumas vozes se levantaram. Em recente entrevista ao DN, o realizador lembrou contudo que "este filme vai ser visto em todo o mundo" e que "vai ser uma publicidade enorme ao fado, e também a Portugal". Ou, como acrescentou: "É como uma embaixada."
Por seu lado, Fados é também o resultado de uma série de "embaixadas" que Carlos Saura convocou, delas fazendo nascer reflexões (mais sugeridas que explicadas) sobre os antecedentes culturais e geográficos do fado, assim como coloca esta canção no presente, frente às mais diversas contaminações exteriores.
Tal como os anteriores Flamenco (1995) e Tango (1998), também de Carlos Saura, Fados é um filme musical. As vozes que escutamos cantam (raramente falam), podendo o filme ser apreciado como uma sucessão de quadros que contam uma história (da génese às possíveis reinvenções do fado) ou apenas como uma série de momentos musicais que se descobrem como se de um espectáculo encenado se tratasse.
Fados começa em África (com o Grupo Kola San Jan e o Transparente de Mariza, mais tarde numa morna de Lura). Escuta logo depois o Brasil, e assim se assinalam teses que identificam nas latitudes mais quentes a possível génese desta canção. Fados é, essencialmente, um conjunto de visões muito pessoais, permitindo-se Carlos Saura a experimentar diálogos com o flamenco (com Mariza em dueto com Miguel Poveda), com a pop e a world music (Lila Downs), com o hip hop (SP & Wilson e NBC). Todavia, também a tradição marca presença. Argentina Santos representa-a. Carlos do Carmo e Camané traduzem depois duas outras gerações distintas, ambas determinantes. E na cena final, numa Casa de Fados (com, entre outros, Vicente da Câmara, Ana Sofia Varela ou Pedro Moutinho), encena-se outra marca de referência do ambiente fadista.
As ousadias (e potenciais focos de polémica) de Fados não se ficam apenas pelas abordagens à música. Como em Flamenco e Tango, Saura usa a dança com a mesma importância visual do trabalho cénico e de luz. Em suma Fados é, no plural, o conjunto dos mundos que Saura faz nascer do fado.
Mariza brings the power of fado
www.thestar.com, September 30, 2007
Mariza is sailing forth like a modern-day Vasco da Gama. Just as Lisbon's most famous navigator charted routes to Africa and India, the Portuguese capital's most celebrated singer is opening lands to the music called fado. Mariza herself makes the analogy.
She recorded her most recent album, Concerto em Lisboa, live outside the Belem Tower – singing at the edge of Lisbon, as though over the ocean, at the monument built 500 years ago partly to salute da Gama's voyages. "Having the (Tagus) river and the tower, the place where the boats left to make their discoveries in the 16th century... all these things came to mind that night," she told an interviewer. "It was the most beautiful concert I've ever done in Portugal," Mariza said while at the Toronto International Film Festival for the world premiere of Fados, by Spanish director Carlos Saura (Tango, Flamenco), in which she features. "For me, it was a huge surprise – 25,000 people watching that concert in absolute silence, and singing when they felt like singing. It was beautiful, a huge connection."
At 33, Mariza seems to be everywhere. In the five years since her first international release, she has been leading a fado revival among Lisbon's youth, a movement that includes such rising stars as Misia, Camané and Cristina Branco. She is also consolidating her wider audience. Fado might have a reputation as melancholy and ripe with longing, but it can also be sophisticated, dramatic and sexy, and Mariza brings a special spiritedness to it that travels well. "Sweet melancholy," she calls her style. But more than sweetness she brings a refined musical taste and sense of adventure, as she embraces both fado's rich history and her own imaginative orchestral ideas.
Unconventionally beautiful, with a girlish face and boyish, blond haircut, she begins a North American tour Wednesday at Massey Hall. The trip includes an appearance on David Letterman on Oct. 11, and ends Oct. 28 in Los Angeles, where architect Frank Gehry has remodelled Disney Concert Hall as a Lisbon tavern for her.
Her new CD is nominated for a Latin Grammy, a first for a Portuguese artist. In North America, the CD comes with the DVD Mariza and the Story of Fado, a BBC documentary educating newcomers to the music's sometimes obscure history, and Mariza's place at its modern forefront.
"An amazing voice, so natural," director Saura said in an interview of the singer's abilities after Fados screened in Toronto. "Such elegance. She doesn't seem to make an effort."
"I am doing a lot of festivals," Mariza said separately of her recent travels. "Sometimes I'm going to jazz festivals and my music belongs to jazz festivals," she said of its broad appeal. "Then I go to chamber music festivals. I'm singing in orchestras. And I go to blues festivals. "It's amazing to feel what a connection (fado) has with everything ... a rich and powerful music."
Mariza brings one other key credential to her art. She grew up poor. Just as Amália Rodrigues, who died as fado's greatest star in 1999, was discovered while selling apples in the street, Mariza also sprang from humble beginnings. She was born in the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique, in southeast Africa, and came to Lisbon at the age of 3. Her father ran a tavern in one of the city's oldest and poorest neighbourhoods. She remains connected to her roots. "The other day I was in Lisbon," she said in the Toronto interview. "I have a friend who has a taverna and it's really underground. "I was sitting with a glass of wine, listening to a lot of bad singers, who I love ... And the introducer said, `Now we have a friend, he likes to sing fado,' and he was Japanese. "It was amazing to see. He was singing quite well – phonetically – and it was like, wow, my culture has crossed another frontier and I felt proud."
