Ana Moura

Surely no other type of music is as closely tied to the psyche of a people as Portuguese fado. The state of saudade, which the fado conveys musically, is an age-old fusion of emotions such as lost love, longing and patriotic pride – it emerged in the thirteenth century as Portugal’s seafarers set out to explore the world during the country’s golden age. Fado singer Ana Moura also represents this special Portuguese form of world weariness. Born in 1979 and raised near Lisbon, the musician is one of Portugal’s leading fadistas, and counts the late Prince and the Rolling Stones among her admirers. Her voice has a dark, elevated elegance, and she switches effortlessly between delicate fragility and powerful intensity.