"Portuguese folk of a melancholy vintage
-Songlines
FAIRY TALES STILL HAPPEN!!!
Tales sounding as if they came straight out of the Arabian Nights..
...I close my eyes, that I may better see
This is the miraculous story of the blind singer Dona Rosa of Lisbon..
Already in the 70s, she turned up in video documentaries as a street singer, accompanying herself only with a triangle in the alleys of Lisbon, where she had long been a local heroine. Then in 1999, André Heller was captivated by her and invited her to appear in the “Voice of God” TV production. This was followed by her debut recording »Historias da Rua« in 2000. Two further CDs followed in 2003 »Segredos« and »Alma Livre« in 2007..
Having achieved notoriety through her appearance in Andre Heller’s music documentary “Voices of God”, Dona Rosa, the blind street singer known to millions for over 20 years from the “Rua Augusta” in Lisbon, has since conquered concert stages of the world from Europe to Taipei and Los Angeles..
She is not “just another pretty face”, who in the world of Fado are discovered from year to year. She is rather someone who moves listeners to the depths of their souls. Her latest con- cert program literally plunges us into her world; The first half of the concert is performed in complete darkness; 40 minutes of total submergence in the inner musical consciousness of Dona Rosa. Through this sensory deprivation, one “sees” the music from within, just as Dona Rosa herself experiences it..
The second half of the concert presents the exact opposite; All the colors of pulsating life in Lisbon - city upon seven hills - it’s antique charms, it’s hidden lanes brimming with vitality, the favored hangouts of musicians and poets are depicted in this; Dona Rosa’s homage to her home town. As she sings images are projected from „Lisboa“ ( Past & Present, Photos, Text & Musik, ISBN 978-3-9813509-2-0 ), the photo book recently-published in Europe, converting a concert into a multi-media event..
The first tour of this new program in Winter 2015/16 in Germany and Austria was completely sold out..
"A voice that is timeless and touching
- Charlie Gillett
"Her chosen songs, though mostly modern, have the haunted, incantatory feel of ancient ballads, rendered in a voice that is at once silvery clear and slightly throaty. Her apparently artless delivery gets to the emotional truth of this material in a way more sophisticated performers mights struggle to achieve for years."
- Daily Telegraph
"..her modest appearance is a reflection of her uncomplicated delivery. Her voice hasn’t got great emotional range. It doesn’t swoop or declaim so much as ride the melodies of the songs she sings, drenched in the saudade (yearning) born of a lifetime’s struggle for survival and acceptance, and it’s a voice that is both enchanting and moving."
- fRoots
"His songbook contains the roots of India's national popular music"
- NRC (NL)
Fado / Folk (Portugal)
"Portuguese folk of a melancholy vintage -Songlines
FAIRY TALES STILL HAPPEN!!!
Tales sounding as if they came straight out of the Arabian Nights..
...I close my eyes, that I may better see
This is the miraculous story of the blind singer Dona Rosa of Lisbon..
Already in the 70s, she turned up in video documentaries as a street singer, accompanying herself only with a triangle in the alleys of Lisbon, where she had long been a local heroine. Then in 1999, André Heller was captivated by her and invited her to appear in the “Voice of God” TV production. This was followed by her debut recording »Historias da Rua« in 2000. Two further CDs followed in 2003 »Segredos« and »Alma Livre« in 2007..
Having achieved notoriety through her appearance in Andre Heller’s music documentary “Voices of God”, Dona Rosa, the blind street singer known to millions for over 20 years from the “Rua Augusta” in Lisbon, has since conquered concert stages of the world from Europe to Taipei and Los Angeles..
She is not “just another pretty face”, who in the world of Fado are discovered from year to year. She is rather someone who moves listeners to the depths of their souls. Her latest con- cert program literally plunges us into her world; The first half of the concert is performed in complete darkness; 40 minutes of total submergence in the inner musical consciousness of Dona Rosa. Through this sensory deprivation, one “sees” the music from within, just as Dona Rosa herself experiences it..
The second half of the concert presents the exact opposite; All the colors of pulsating life in Lisbon - city upon seven hills - it’s antique charms, it’s hidden lanes brimming with vitality, the favored hangouts of musicians and poets are depicted in this; Dona Rosa’s homage to her home town. As she sings images are projected from „Lisboa“ ( Past & Present, Photos, Text & Musik, ISBN 978-3-9813509-2-0 ), the photo book recently-published in Europe, converting a concert into a multi-media event..
The first tour of this new program in Winter 2015/16 in Germany and Austria was completely sold out..
LINEUP:
Group Size: 3 Artists + 1 tour manager