Biography

UNFORGETTABLE CONCERT HALLS...

Since the release of her CD "Encantamento", Mafalda never stopped performing, playing almost 60 concerts in Portugal alone, and giving others in Italy (Rome, Stresa, Spilimbergo), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Belgium, France (Paris, Lyon), Greece, Macau, Sweden, Turkey, London and Spain.

Of all these performances, it was the one that she gave at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam that most clearly stood out, due to the significance and size of the concert and the fact that the venue is one of the most prestigious in Europe. Thanks to the enthusiastic response of the 2400 audience members, she experienced one of the most emotional and intense moments of her life.

On another level, Mafalda enjoys fondly recalling the week of concerts she gave in Greece at a nationally famous Jazz Club, where the ambience reminded her of the intimacy and cosiness of the Portuguese fado houses.

But the most impressive venue of all for Mafalda was, without doubt, the Royal Albert Hall. With its magnificent acoustics and exceptional architecture, it was quite a memorable performance...


THE TURNING POINT...

2004 was a year that marked the beginning of a turning point in Mafalda Arnauth’s career. Leaving EMI was the result not so much of any disillusionment or displeasure with the label as it was the consequence of her taking a conscious and necessary step forward. However, their shared past, her prolific present, and her future, which, from her early days as a singer, was expected to be one of mutual collaboration and respect, gave rise to the release, in June 2005, of "Talvez se Chame Saudade" [Maybe It’s Called Missing You], "The Best of Mafalda Arnauth".

The release of that best-of collection, with which Mafalda Arnauth was actively involved, represented a new source of inspiration for the singer through the memories that it awakened in her. In particular, the compilation showed her the extent to which she had grown as an artist, and ended up serving almost as a kind of map of all the steps she had taken to reach that point; the joyous sharing of all the songs and sensations she’d created with all the people that had worked with her; her struggle to overcome her insecurities and uncertainties; and the clear and irrefutable choice she’s made to pursue music, her true vocation.

This album is also a moment that has been eternally crystallized in time, a tribute to the fado music which is now an undeniable part of the singer, even on those songs where the horizons of tradition and experience are less clearly defined – since it is on those songs that her greatest reflections, her greatest struggles, and the sensation of working with something truly mysterious come out.