The Art of Amália
Encyclopedia
The Art of Amália is a documentary by Bruno de Almeida
on the life and career of Amália Rodrigues
(1920-1999), the celebrated Portuguese
fado
singer. The film a 90-minute truncated version of a previous five-hour made-for-television mini-series on the singer; it was also de Almeida’s fourth cinematic project celebrating Rodrigues’ career.
The film opens with an on-screen introduction by David Byrne
, who praises the singer for “singing in these fado songs about the sadness of the universe, not only about a personal sadness or a tragedy in her own life or in the writer's life, but she was expressing the sadness of existence." The Art of Amália mixes rare film, television and concert footage from different periods of Rodrigues’ career. The film also presents a previously thought lost clip of a very rare appearance (billed only as “Amália”) on U.S. television in 1953, where she performed her hit song Coimbra (better known to U.S. audiences in the English-language version April in Portugal
).
The Art of Amália also includes the last filmed interview by Rodrigues, who died one week before production was completed.
The singer spoke at length of her career, but not her personal life – Stephen Holden's review in the New York Times faulted de Almeida for omitting mention of Rodrigues’ husband of 36 years, Cesar Sebra.
The film had its U.S. premiere in March 2000 at a United Nations benefit, and its theatrical premiere in New York in December 2000. The DVD is now available to the public.
Bruno de Almeida
Bruno de Almeida was born in Paris in March 1965. Of Portuguese origins, he has lived between New York City and Lisbon since 1985.-Career:In 1993 his first film, The Debt, won the award for best short at the Cannes Film Festival Critic's Week and had a long run playing in 85 film festivals and...
on the life and career of Amália Rodrigues
Amália Rodrigues
Amália da Piedade Rodrigues, GCSE, GCIH, , also known as Amália Rodrigues was a Portuguese singer and actress.She was known as the "Rainha do Fado" and was most influential in popularizing the fado worldwide. She was one of the most important figures in the genre's development, and enjoyed a...
(1920-1999), the celebrated Portuguese
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...
fado
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. The film a 90-minute truncated version of a previous five-hour made-for-television mini-series on the singer; it was also de Almeida’s fourth cinematic project celebrating Rodrigues’ career.
The film opens with an on-screen introduction by David Byrne
David Byrne (musician)
David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
, who praises the singer for “singing in these fado songs about the sadness of the universe, not only about a personal sadness or a tragedy in her own life or in the writer's life, but she was expressing the sadness of existence." The Art of Amália mixes rare film, television and concert footage from different periods of Rodrigues’ career. The film also presents a previously thought lost clip of a very rare appearance (billed only as “Amália”) on U.S. television in 1953, where she performed her hit song Coimbra (better known to U.S. audiences in the English-language version April in Portugal
April in Portugal (song)
"April in Portugal" is a popular song, also named "The Whisp'ring Serenade." The music and lyrics were written by Raul Ferrão as a fado named "Coimbra", about the city of that name. In 1947. English lyrics written by Jimmy Kennedy were set to the music, though many of the most popular versions of...
).
The Art of Amália also includes the last filmed interview by Rodrigues, who died one week before production was completed.
The singer spoke at length of her career, but not her personal life – Stephen Holden's review in the New York Times faulted de Almeida for omitting mention of Rodrigues’ husband of 36 years, Cesar Sebra.
The film had its U.S. premiere in March 2000 at a United Nations benefit, and its theatrical premiere in New York in December 2000. The DVD is now available to the public.