Rodrigues, Amália

(1920-1999)

   Most celebrated and beloved of Portuguese fado singers (fadistas) of all time. Born in poverty and obscurity, "Amália," as she became known to generations of Portuguese fans, came to Lisbon at a young age as a singer and later starred in a number of Portuguese films. With her sultry voice and subdued dark beauty, Amália Rodrigues's distinctive singing of fado, soon conquered Portugal. Later, she introduced fado singing to the world beyond her small country. In Brazil, she soon became a popular club and show singer as well as a recording star. She made her debut in New York's Carnegie Hall during 1959-60, and made many return engagements in the United States. Unlike many other fado singers, Amália sang in public into old age, still performing in her seventies. When she died in 1999, Portugal's government declared days of public mourning and gave Amália the state funeral generations of fans expected, an extraordinary tribute to a figure who was not officially in public life or in an official post. For posterity, her remarkably beautiful voice and phrasing remain recorded on countless records, on film, and on CDs.

   See also Cinema.