Fados

If references to the fado -- an ancient Portuguese form of music -- fail to strike a chord with even the most cultured American viewers, this is only attributable to the genre's longtime obscurity. A Portuguese musical mode borne out of early 19th century Lisbon, and characterized by long, ornate, ...more

Anyone who doesn't know much about the fado -- the traditional Portuguese musical form -- will likely come away from Carlos Saura's Fados feeling as though it is engrained in their psyches. And this is, to be sure, a good thing. The form itself dates from the 19th century in Lisbon, and is built upon long, ornate, highly melodic and expressive ballads generally steeped in unhappiness -- shattered romances and thwarted lives -- and it's about as close to the emotional intensity of grand opera as ...more