Maria Severa Onofriana
Encyclopedia
Maria Severa Onofriana (1820 - November 30, 1846), also known simply as A Severa, is regarded as the first fado
singer to have risen to fame, attaining a near-mythical status after her death. Fado has been described as the Portuguese expression of 'the blues,' and fado roughly means fate.
, Portugal
in the neighborhood of Madragoa in 1820. She was the daughter of Severo Manuel and Ana Gertrudes. Her mother was the owner of a tavern
and had the nickname A Barbuda ("the bearded woman"). Severa is said to have been a tall and gracious prostitute, and would sing the fado in taverns, where she would also play the Portuguese guitar
. She is known to have had several lovers, including Francisco de Paula Portugal e Castro, 13th Count of Vimioso, who brought her to attend bullfights
(a public and important social event of that time).
She died of tuberculosis
on November 30, 1846, on Capelão street in Mouraria, Lisbon, and afterward was buried on a common ditch on the cemetery of Alto de São João.
Her fame was due to a novel by Júlio Dantas
, entitled A Severa, which was then made into a play
and that was brought to stage in 1901. In 1931, director Leitão de Barros turned the play into the first Portuguese film
to feature sound
, A Severa.
A romantic musical, Maria Severa, opened July 19, 2011, at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. Book, music and lyrics by Jay Turvey and Paul Sportelli, directed by Jackie Maxwell and starring Julie Martell as Maria.
Fado
Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...
singer to have risen to fame, attaining a near-mythical status after her death. Fado has been described as the Portuguese expression of 'the blues,' and fado roughly means fate.
Biography
Maria Severa was born in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in the neighborhood of Madragoa in 1820. She was the daughter of Severo Manuel and Ana Gertrudes. Her mother was the owner of a tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
and had the nickname A Barbuda ("the bearded woman"). Severa is said to have been a tall and gracious prostitute, and would sing the fado in taverns, where she would also play the Portuguese guitar
Portuguese guitar
The Portuguese guitar or Portuguese guitarra is a plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings, strung in six courses comprising two strings each. It is one of the few musical instruments to use Preston tuners. It is most notably associated with fado.-History:The origin of the Portuguese...
. She is known to have had several lovers, including Francisco de Paula Portugal e Castro, 13th Count of Vimioso, who brought her to attend bullfights
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
(a public and important social event of that time).
She died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
on November 30, 1846, on Capelão street in Mouraria, Lisbon, and afterward was buried on a common ditch on the cemetery of Alto de São João.
Her fame was due to a novel by Júlio Dantas
Júlio Dantas
Júlio Dantas, GCC was a Portuguese doctor, poet, journalist, politician, diplomat and dramatist.-Biography:...
, entitled A Severa, which was then made into a play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
and that was brought to stage in 1901. In 1931, director Leitão de Barros turned the play into the first Portuguese film
Cinema of Portugal
Portuguese cinema has a long tradition, reaching back to the birth of the medium in the late 19th century. In the 1950s, Cinema Novo, sprang up as a movement concerned with showing realism in film, in the vein of Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave...
to feature sound
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
, A Severa.
A romantic musical, Maria Severa, opened July 19, 2011, at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. Book, music and lyrics by Jay Turvey and Paul Sportelli, directed by Jackie Maxwell and starring Julie Martell as Maria.