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  • PORTUGUESE FADO SINGER MARIZA MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
  • Oct. 28, 2007
  • Frank Gehry Transforms Walt Disney Concert Hall Stage Into Taverna

    SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, AT 7:30 PM

    Mariza, one of the foremost fado singers in the world, returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall on Sunday, October 28, at 7:30 p.m. For this one-night-only appearance, renowned architect Frank Gehry transforms the Walt Disney Concert Hall stage into a taverna, a design that represents the Portuguese home of fado music.

    Fado, Portugal's most famous music, tells emotional tales of longing and loss. The mournful music of fado began in the taverns and on the street corners of the poor sections of Lisbon. Mariza, who spent her childhood singing in her father's Lisbon fado taverna, became an international sensation after the release of her 2001 debut album Fado Em Mim. Now Portugal's reigning ambassador of fado, Mariza shares the country's musical gift with the world, respecting traditions of the past while enlightening audiences of the future. In 2005, Mariza performed to an audience of 25,000 people in the gardens of Tome de Belém, a famous and beautiful neighborhood of Lisbon. The subsequent live album Concerto em Lisboa was released in November 2006 coupled with the BBC documentary Mariza and the Story of Fado.

    About five years ago, Frank Gehry heard Mariza sing in Lisbon, and quickly became enamored with both the city and the music. A friendship between the two quickly ensued, and Gehry, who has never before collaborated with a performer in this capacity, asked Mariza if he could design a Lisbon taverna on the stage inside his very own architectural gem. This is the first time Mariza will have a taverna of her own.

    MARIZA is a Mozambican whose soul was forged in the old Mouraria district of Lisbon. It was there that she first heard fado singers, lots of them - so many that their names and faces have merged into the mist of memory; but these "reminiscences live on in my singing." Mariza's first album, Fado em mim (Fado in me), went quadruple platinum in Portugal and thrust her on to the international scene. In 2002 she performed in New York's Central Park, the Hollywood Bowl, the Womad Festival, and sold out the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon and the Purcell Room on London's South Bank. At the time her second album, Fado Curvo (Curved Fado) was launched, Mariza confirmed all expectations. The album was critically acclaimed and went quadruple platinum. At this point, Mariza had outsold all other contemporary fado singers by six times. Mariza has performed concerts on four continents with notable success and full houses; the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Teatro Grec in Barcelona, the Albeniz Theatre in Madrid, the Royal Festival Hall in London or the Opera House in Sydney. Fado makes its way in the world through the transparency of its lyrics, and these Mariza sings with all her heart, because it's in the work of poets that Mariza seeks the words which she can make her own within a traditional form of music which is undergoing constant renewal.

    The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable places anywhere to experience music - Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association's involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational programs, community concerts and children's programming, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 7:30 PM

    WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles

    Mariza

    Tickets ($35-$88) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Adam Crane, 213.972.3408, acrane@laphil.org; Lisa Bellamore, 213.972.3689, lbellamore@laphil.org; Photos: 213.972.3034