Plesni studio Pegaz

MARIZA
Fado Singer

Nationality: Portuguese
Residency: Portugal
Roots: Mozambique
Place of Birth: Mozambique

Web: www.mariza.com

Widely hailed as the heir to "Fadista" legend Amália Rodrigues, Mariza has been taking listeners breath away with her remarkable voice and astonishing performances.
Her 2002 debut cd "Fado Em Mim" (Times Square/World Connection) achieved Gold status in her native Portugal - where Mariza has been proclaimed "Best Fado Voice" - and received worldwide acclaim including two nominations as "Best European Artist" and "Best Newcomer Artist" for BBC Radio's prestigious 2003 Awards for World Music.
Born in Mozambique, Mariza moved with her family to Portugal as baby where she was immersed in Lisbon's fado houses where singing is an integral part of everyday life. She began singing fado as a child, even before she could read, her father sketching out little cartoon stories to help her remember the lyrics. At age five, she would join in the spontaneous singing in her parents' restaurant in Mouraria, one of Lisbon's most traditional neighborhoods.
Fado is Portugal's blues or rebetika or tango or flamenco. "They all stand on emotions," says Mariza, "fado is an emotional kind of music full of passion, sorrow, jealousy, grief and, often, satire." Yet fado differs from its musical cousins through its poetic mystery and its ability to fuse dichotomous traits: impossible pain and fervent joy... life's cruelty with love's intensity.
From the very outset of her career, Mariza has been compared to one of fado's biggest icons : Amália Rodrigues. In the words of the great Portuguese composer Nuno Nazareth Fernandes: "Mariza is an adorable extra-terrestrial being, someone sent by the Great Creator to reinvent the fado."
Mariza had her first major national exposure in 1999 as a guest performer in the Tribute for Amália Rodrigues concerts that were presented in the City Coliseums of Lisbon and Oporto and broadcast live on Portugal's TV Networks. These performances by Mariza's sparked immediate interest in both the public eye and the national media.
In 2000, she received the award, "Voice of Fado," presented by Central FM (Portugal's national radio station) and was invited to "introduce" fado to rock icon Sting on the highly rated national television show Hermansic.
Walking the fine line that is necessary to carry fado's genuine traditions while bringing to them a modern freshness, Mariza's performance style captures the raw emotion that characterizes classic fado - yet, with her own personal twist.
Mariza's 2nd cd released May 2003 is called FADO CURVO. Her first major North American theatre and festival performances tour are slated in the 2003/2004 season and beyond.