Fado concerts are known to have started in brothels and bars, moving on to more traditional fado houses. But its journey has also taken fado to other diverse and large stages.

 

The early 20th century saw the publication of the first books dedicated to fado, notably Historia do Fado (History of Fado) by Pinto de Carvalho and A Triste Canção do Sul – Subsídios para a historia do fado (The Sad Song of the South – Contributions to the History of Fado) by Alberto Pimentel. It was also at this time that fado singers began to professionalise, starting to perform in the grand cafés of Lisbon.

 

 

The emergence of radio in 1925, together with records and the gramophone, provided a new channel for disseminating fado, allowing artists to perform live and direct. In effect, radio and records brought these fado shows to more and more people, who gradually became converted to fado.

 

It was in the 1930s that groups of fado singers began to form, leaving the fado houses and going on tours throughout the country, performing fado concerts in any venue. Following this, the first fado events began to appear, bringing together fado singers in Lisbon.

 

Ercilia Costa is the fado singer who will then begin the internationalisation of fado, performing international tours on major stages in Brazil, France, and the United States, accompanied by great Portuguese guitar specialists such as Armandinho and Raul Nery.

 

 

In the 1940s, fado was already present in literature, cinema, theatre and radio, as well as on television, with the birth of RTP in 1957.
Consequently, fado concerts arrived on the stage of the Coliseu dos Recreios, with the debut of Grande Noite de Fado, a competition that lasted three decades.

 

Thus, by the end of the 1950s, the fado singer was recognised as an artist, performing in various venues throughout the country, treading all kinds of stages, always returning to the traditional Casa de Fado.

NERY, R. (2004) TOWARDS A HISTORY OF FADO. Lisbon: Público/ Corda Seca.

Machado, A. (2012)Ídolos do Fado. Lisboa: INCM – Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda
Lopes, S. (2011) Fado Portugal200 Anos de Fado. Oeiras: SevenMuses