Mariza’s contralto can grow from a sweet, yearning coo to a gut-wrenching wail in the space of a single run, but in her genre, that’s merely on par. For a modern fadista, the real trick is to inject all those acrobatics with some attitude. And of all the post–Amália Rodrigues divas, Mariza has been the most successful at making her personality one with fado, the art form known as Portuguese blues.

 

On the new Concerto em Lisboa, a live recording drawing from her three studio albums, the svelte half-Mozambican singer declares her ownership of the music, creatively (nontrad string arrangements, expanded repertoire) and literally (one song’s title, “Meu Fado Meu,” means “my own fado”). Even with her look—close-shorn, bleached-out hair; vividly colorful fashions—Mariza bucks fado’s reputation as dated mourning music. Yet despite the liberties she takes, her fiery pipes remain true to the idiom’s core requirement: unadulterated passion.

By: Cristina Black