Search - Amalia Rodrigues :: Yesterday & Today

45 years of magic (to be true, 60 in all)

Fernando Forte | Lisbon, Portugal | 06/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being its subject Amália Rodrigues, the unforgettable Portuguese singer, I felt compelled to give this CD a 5-star rating, but, setting aside its subject I would rate it a 4-star CD. The sound quality isn't, in fact, the best one. Yesterday refers to Amália's first recordings ever, in 1945, and Today to Amália's live concert in New York City in 1990, 45 years later. Nevertheless, it is an important CD because it shows how Amália from the age of 25 was innovative even then, giving a new colour to fado, and paving the way to a great career which would take her throughout the world. As to the 1990 concert the video recording of the same has a much better sound quality, and does justice to her still powerful and beautiful voice, despite the passing of time, and showing one of the best singers in the world (for me the best), and her strong charisma mesmerizing her varied audience, in a concert which was part of the world tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of her career. In fact Amália, born in the alleyways of one of Lisbon's old quarters, Mouraria, in 1920, premiered in 1939 and only stopped singing when illness prevented her from working in 1994. She sang all over the world, becoming a renowned singer in many countries, and she was also an actress, decorated by many nations as disparate as Portugal, Brazil, Lebanon, Israel, Spain, France and Japan. In Portugal, she became a national collective symbol, and when she died on the 6th October 1999, she was mourned by millions at home and abroad, and given a state funeral, attended by thousands, with a live broadcast on all public and private Televisions in her country and Euronews on Cable TV. On the 8th July 2001 her body was transferred to Portugal's National Pantheon, the first woman ever to be given that honour, and also the first artist. Un unforgettable woman and an incomparable singer."