Mariza

Born in Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, Mozambique, and raised in the Mouraria neighborhood of Lisbon, Mariza grew up among several cultures before singing in the city's casas de fado. Her career is part of the fado revival of the early 2000s, with an approach that preserves the genre’s codes while opening them to more contemporary arrangements and influences from other Lusophone and Mediterranean repertoires. Mariza came to prominence with Fado em Mim (2001), followed by Fado Curvo (2003), Transparente (2005), Terra (2008) and Fado Tradicional (2010), alternating original compositions, traditional fados and reinterpretations of the repertoire. With Mundo (2015), produced by Javier Limón, she further deepened this search for balance between Lisbon tradition and broader sonic textures. Her broad voice, highly worked phrasing and sense of nuance remain rooted in the language of fado, even when the orchestrations move away from the sparer format. Active in theatres, festivals and concert halls across Europe and internationally, Mariza also devoted a 2020 album to Amália Rodrigues: Mariza canta Amália.