Cristina Branco is one of the most important Portuguese artists of recent decades, with a total of 17 albums released and countless concerts all over the world. Her most recent work, Eva (2020) has won over the public and critics alike and confirmed Cristina as one of the most versatile performers on the Portuguese music scene.
She began her career in Holland, with the album Cristina Branco in Holland (1997), which became a huge success in that country. In the following years, Cristina’s name exploded throughout Europe, with sold-out dates in countless venues and cities. Her following works, Murmúrios (1998) and Post-Scriptum (2000) reinforced the success of her first album, and Cristina was awarded two Prix Choc, the prestigious prizes given by the French magazine Le Monde de La Musique.
Despite her accomplishments abroad, it was only at the turn of the millennium, with Corpo Iluminado (2001), O Descobridor (2002), a double-platinum album, Sensus (2003), and Ulisses (2005), that Cristina Branco finally began to be discovered and acclaimed by the Portuguese public and press. Comparisons with Amália Rodrigues were recurrent and inevitable.
This was followed by Abril (2007), an album with cover versions of songs by José Afonso, Kronos (2009) and Fado Tango (2011), her tenth studio album, which features collaborations with renowned authors and composers such as Mário Laginha, Carlos Tê, and Pedro da Silva Martins. The album shows the first signs that Cristina’s music could have another guise and foreshadows Cristina’s artistic rebirth that would arrive a few years later with Menina.
Considered Best Record of the Year by Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores (SPA), Menina (2016), is the first chapter of a trilogy that includes the jovial and kaleidoscopic Branco (2018) and Eva (2020). In these works, Cristina brings together unusual collaborations, which cross styles, genres, cultures, and geographies. The result is an innovative and spontaneous interpretation of the traditional musical expression of Fado.
Eva, the most recent of the three, is an unpredictable record, rich in filigree and details that reveal Cristina’s intimacy and human depth. The album emerges in the form of a question: “what is freedom for me?”. We find the answer in the diary of Eva Haussman, an alter-ego of the singer. Eva personifies the freedom that Cristina pursues. Through the delicate firmness of Cristina Branco’s voice, we open the doors to this which is Cristina’s most personal and intimate work to date.
Today, on the verge of celebrating 25 years of career, Cristina Branco shows herself exactly as she is, a true, free and genuine woman. Fado will always be present. Cristina brings it in her senses.