KRISTUPAS FESTIVAL | FADO: CHRISTMAS IN ALFAMA

JOANA AMENDOEIRA (vocals, Portugal)
PEDRO AMENDOEIRA (Portuguese guitar, Portugal)
JOÃO FILIPE (classical guitar, Portugal)

The magic of fado with Portugal’s gem — Joana Amendoeira. This is the moment so often missing in the rush of December. A moment when, inside St. Catherine’s Church, you will feel as if you were at home with fado in charming Alfama.

Alfama is Lisbon’s oldest district. Here, in a maze of narrow cobbled streets, among white houses and sunny courtyards, the city’s true spirit still lives, and fado rings out in the evenings. For Joana Amendoeira, this is not a pretty postcard, but part of her musical biography. Over three decades, she has sung in Lisbon’s most famous fado houses: “Clube de Fado,” “Sr. Vinho,” and “Mesa de Frades”; in recent years, she also directed the musical programme at “Fama de Alfama.”

Having made her debut on the “Grande Noite do Fado” stage at just eleven, Joana now performs around the world. What makes her exceptional is not only the beauty of her voice, but also her ability to sing so that, even if you do not understand a word of Portuguese, you will understand everything at her concert.

Joana’s songs hold love, loss, the sea, human destiny, meetings, and partings. Every word, every pause, and even the intensity of silence matters in them. This is how a special feeling opens up, one that the Portuguese call saudade.

Even after the concert, it may be difficult to explain what saudade really is. But as you leave, you will know one thing — the holidays have begun.

The programme features fado classics