Portuguese fadista and award-winning singer Duarte to perform in the US

Portuguese fadista Duarte, an award-winning singer and fixture of Lisbon’s fado scene, will be opening his first US tour in Lowell, Massachusetts on October 10. Duarte has released two highly successful CDs, with a third scheduled for release this fall. In his fifteen-year career, Duarte has performed extensively in Portugal and throughout Europe, as well as in Africa and the Far East.

Fado — a traditional Portuguese music of love, loss, passion and tradition — is enjoying a global resurgence, spurred on by UNESCO’s designation of fado as “World Immaterial and Cultural Patrimony” in 2011. The tour is part of a initiative of cultural engagement between the US and Portugal, bringing an authentic experience of fado to the US.

Duarte’s first CD, Fados Meus mined the classic fado repertory, while his second, Aquelas Coisas da Gente, fused established and emerging elements of the tradition, including numerous works of his own composition, and provided the title song for the award-winning film “Mysteries of Lisbon.”

The Amália Rodrigues Foundation recognized Duarte’s accomplishments as a singer, musician, lyricist, and composer with its 2006 Revelation prize.

Joining Duarte on this tour are US-based fado singers Ângela Brito (on 10 October) and Tânia da Silva (on 16 October in Peabody, Massachusetts and on 17 October in Fall River, Massachusetts). Duarte will also be performing on 1 October at Atasca Restaurant in Cambridge and on 19 October at the Woburn Portuguese Club.

Playing the Portuguese guitar on all dates will be Bruno Chaveiro, Duarte’s frequent collaborator.

During the group’s visit to the U.S., they will be giving English-language university workshops on the fado, appearing in Portuguese language schools, and visiting local communities. The visit is organized by Portuguese/American Cultural Exchange, a Massachusetts-based non-profit.