In my part of the (real) world, traditional Portuguese music – fado – became popular relatively recently, with the international success of the celebrated Portuguese ensemble Madredeus. When a friend invited me to attend an inworld fado show, I knew I’d had to be there.
And so last night we had the privilege of listening to the beautiful voice of Treza Bettencourt (Zoree in SL). If you have any interest in high-quality music performances in SL, this is a name you have to make a note of.
She was singing for over an hour, filling the space of an old theatre with charm and genuine kindness. I’m not an expert at fado, but it sounds like the sort of music that simply has to be sung in a heartfelt way. It cannot be faked.
The atmosphere was warm and intimate, just like her voice and the words of the songs she sang. Lyrics were about love and romance, broken hearts and unfulfilled dreams. I had to chuckle when she said something like, “We Portuguese like to suffer,” as that sounds a lot like the folk music that I’m familiar with. I guess like love, love pains too are universal.
It was a beautiful night, and I give thanks to JoaoPedro Oh, known inworld simply as Joa, for organizing the event.
P.S. More snapshots are available on Abinoam’s Tumblr.
Nørgaard Village Post 