Program: Adriana Calcanhotto
Adriana Calcanhotto was born the daughter of musician Carlos Calcanhotto (originally Calcagnotto) of Italian origin from Volpago del Montello, Veneto, and a Brazilian dancer. Adriana's first album, called Enguiço, was released in 1990 and consisted mostly of covers of well known MPB (Brazilian pop) songs, which were part of the repertoire she used to perform as a singer in restaurants and bars in Porto Alegre. It included only one original composition, the title track. The debut album spawned her first hit, a cover of Caetano Veloso's ”Naquela Estação,” which became successful thanks to it being included in the soundtrack of the primetime soap Rainha da Sucata, one of the most watched in the history of Brazilian television.
1992 saw the release of Senhas, which included the hits "Mentiras" and "Esquadros" and was followed by a successful national tour. In 1994, Adriana, sporting a new look of short black hair as opposed to the slightly longer bright blond haircut she'd had since the beginning of her career, released A Fábrica do Poema, which is considered by many to be her most poetic album. She collaborated with lyricists like Waly Salomão and António Cícero (brother and constant musical partner of fellow singer Marina Lima) and included the hits "Metade" and "Inverno." This was followed by Maritmo (a combination of the words marítimo (maritime) and ritmo (rhythm)), a concept album intended as the first part of a trilogy with water as a main theme.
At the turn of the millennium, Adriana hit a career highpoint with the release of the album Público in 2000. Her first live album/DVD, Público was recorded in a voz-e-violão (voice and guitar) style, meaning there was no band, only the singer playing her acoustic guitar, an instrument which has followed her through her career. The album included a cover of the staple torch song ”Devolva-me,” made famous by the duo Leno & Lilian back in the 1960s. This album was followed by her first greatest hits compilation, Perfil . The success of this album prompted her record company to make it a series, releasing compilations of the same title by such artists as Cássia Eller, Zélia Duncan, and Djavan. Another album of new material wouldn't be released until 2002, when the singer released Cantada. In the meantime, Adriana toured Europe and Japan, as she has done many times since.
After the release of Cantada, Adriana took on the persona of Adriana Partimpim, an alias the singer claims to have used as a child. Adriana Partimpim released her self-titled "debut" in 2004, an album of covers featuring mostly traditional children's songs and familiar pop songs made to resemble children's songs. Examples of such songs are the covers of Paula Toller's ”Oito Anos” (a song Toller wrote for her own son, Gabriel) and Claudinho & Buchecha's ”Fico Assim Sem Você,” which became a hit on adult radio. A live CD/DVD combo of the show was also released the following year.
Her following album, Maré, was released in early 2008 and features a guest appearance by the singer's personal friend Marisa Monte, as well as a cover of Marina Lima's song ”Três.” Adriana toured Brazil to promote the record, as well as Europe, Japan, and the United States. Adriana chronicled her adventures on tour in the book Saga Lusa (Portuguese Saga), in which she shares her memoirs of the Portuguese section of this tour.
On October 23, 2009, Adriana performed in front of an adoring crowd at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada in a free performance presented by the Embassy of Brazil.
In 2011, Adriana released her tenth studio album, O Micróbio do Samba, an original recording dedicated to samba, which earned her another gold album. The success of this album resulted in a live album, Multishow Live: The Microbe of Samba, released in 2012. In the same year, Adriana released the third album in her Partimpim series, titled Partimplim Tlês.
In 2015, Adriana Calcanhoto released her 17th album, Loucura, on the Sony Music label and toured the country. After a two-year residency at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, where she was named Portuguese Language Ambassador in 2015, Adriana conceived the project A Mulher do Pau-Brasil, which originated a tour of Europe and several cities in Brazil. Included in the repertoire were new songs and huge career successes such as “Winter,” “Esquadros,” and “Vambora” and the rereading of songs by great composers such as “As Caravanas” by Chico Buarque.
In 2019 her album Margem, the third installment of a trilogy inspired by the sea which began with Maritimo (1998) and was followed by Maré (2008), features her trademark enchanting melodies and artistic music videos with songs like the title track and “Ogunté.” In 2020, the live album was released, which was recorded during the 2019 tour.
Visit Adriana Calcanhotto's website.
Don't miss Milton Nascimento, One Final Music Session-Farewell Tour coming to the Berklee Performance Center on Oct 09!
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