One-Name Wonder
Madonna. Beyoncé. Cher. In Portugal, they can’t touch Mariza, the glamorous powerhouse who’s filling stadiums with the heart-rending folk melodies of her childhood By Stuart Broomer
Image credit: Jose Goulao
Over the past two years, the Mozambique-born fado singer Mariza has wowed Letterman, inspired a BBC documentary and become the first Portuguese artist nominated for a Latin Grammy. Starchitect Frank Gehry even designed a set—a recreation of a Lisbon taverna—for her performance at L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Fado, a bluesy style that translates as “fate,” and its sombre songs of doomed romance once seemed destined to remain a local phenomenon, eventually fading into obscurity. But Mariza is changing all that. Her startling white-blonde hair and wraith-like figure, exaggerated by floor-length gowns and stilettos, garner plenty of attention, but it’s her voice—soaring, keening, imploring, capable of suddenly shifting from a whisper to a near-shout—that has floored the world.
Mariza appears at Massey Hall on Feb. 13. $39.50–$69.50. 178 Victoria St., 416-872-4255, www.masseyhall.com.
Related:
• What’s On: Toronto Life’s Arts and Entertainment Guide
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