WHEN A CD IS accompanied by a DVD, the video seldom has more to offer than routine concert footage, backstage interviews and promotional gambits. Not so with this double-disc set. As entertaining as it is to hear Lisbon-bred fado singer Mariza performing in her home town on disc one -- all the more so because she's featured in an orchestral setting that consistently complements her lusty, dramatic, soulful voice -- the real treat is an illuminating video documentary titled "Mariza and the Story of Fado." Besides exploring the music's intriguing history, which has been affected by frequently shifting cultural and political winds, the DVD features vintage performances (and an interview) with fado queen Am?lia Rodrigues, whose death in 1999 triggered three days of mourning in Portugal. Watching her perform, it's easy to understand the deep emotional connection Rodrigues had with audiences around the world and the profound influence she continues to have on Mariza and other contemporary fadistas.
Listeners familiar with Mariza's recordings won't find many surprises on the CD, but the fresh arrangements (and doubtless the Lisbon setting) inspire stirring performances of "Loucura," "Meu Fado Meu" and other tracks that have appeared on recent studio albums. The DVD also finds her performing, albeit in far more intimate and informal settings, while visiting old haunts in Lisbon, that "harbor of longing / Where a guitar plays a sad fado / When the soul overflows / Its sadness sings and weeps silently."
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Appearing Friday at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
Listen to an audio clip of Mariza
Listeners familiar with Mariza's recordings won't find many surprises on the CD, but the fresh arrangements (and doubtless the Lisbon setting) inspire stirring performances of "Loucura," "Meu Fado Meu" and other tracks that have appeared on recent studio albums. The DVD also finds her performing, albeit in far more intimate and informal settings, while visiting old haunts in Lisbon, that "harbor of longing / Where a guitar plays a sad fado / When the soul overflows / Its sadness sings and weeps silently."
.
Appearing Friday at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
Listen to an audio clip of Mariza
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