CHRISTOPHER FESTIVAL | FADO: CHRISTMAS AT ALFAMA

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

The magic of fado with Portugal’s gem – Joana Amendoeira. A moment we desperately need amid the December rush. A moment when, sitting in St Catherine’s Church, you’ll feel like you’re at a fado house in captivating Alfama.

Alfama is Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood. Here, amid a labyrinth of narrow, cobbled streets, white houses and sunny courtyards, the true spirit of the city lives on, and fado can be heard in the evenings. This was more than just a cute postcard for Joana Amendoeira – it was a part of her musical biography.

Over the last three decades, she has sung at Lisbon’s most renowned houses of fado: Clube de Fado, Sr. Vinho, Mesa de Frades, and in recent years she has directed the musical programme at Fama d'Alfama.

Debuting on stage at Grande Noite do Fado when she was barely eleven, today Joana appears in concerts all over the world. Her exceptionality goes beyond the beauty of her voice, there’s also her ability to sing in way that, without knowing the slightest word in Portuguese, you will still understand everything at her concert.

Joana’s songs combine love, loss, the ocean, human destiny, meetings and separation. Every word, every pause, even the intensity of silence carry deep meaning. They give rise to that special feeling the Portuguese call saudade.

Even after the concert, it might still be difficult to explain exactly what saudade is. But by the time you leave, you’ll know one thing for sure – the Christmas season has begun.

The programme features fado classics alongside selected songs from Joana Amendoeira’s extensive repertoire

For Joana Amendoeira, fado is far more than a chosen musical genre – it is her destiny, as natural and essential as breathing.

She made her debut at the age of eleven at Porto’s Grande Noite do Fado. A year later, she returned to the same stage and received the award for best female interpretation. Joana subsequently moved to Lisbon, where she began performing at Clube de Fado, one of the city’s most celebrated fado houses.

She learned from veteran fado singers and leading musicians, who recognised her distinctive voice, stage presence and talent from an early age. Over a career spanning three decades, Joana has performed at Lisbon’s foremost fado houses, including Clube de Fado, Sr. Vinho and Mesa de Frades. She has toured worldwide, released ten albums and, more recently, curated the music programme at Fama de Alfama.

Her career encompasses numerous awards and distinctions, international tours and a wealth of Portuguese music projects. In 2021, Joana released Na Volta da Maré, an album featuring lyrics by Portuguese poet Tiago Torres da Silva.