Anabela Braz Pires
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Anabela Braz Pires (born 22 September 1976 in Almada) is a Portuguese singer and musical theatre actress, best known in Portugal
mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...
ously by her first name, Anabela. Her career in music has spanned over decades, and she is well known for representing
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
at the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
, her work as a solo recording artist, and her work in musical theatre collaborating with producer
Filipe La Féria Luís Filipe Valente Lá Féria Orta, known professionally as Filipe La Féria (born May 17, 1945 in Vila Nova de São Bento), is a Portugal, Portuguese Television director, director, Television producer, producer, and screenwriter for television ...
. In a 2006 interview with ''Selecções do
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
'', she joked that in the national consciousness, she went from being known as "the Eurovision girl" to "the La Féria girl."Reader's Digest "Selections" interview – Part 1 (in Portuguese)


Early life and career

Anabela Braz Pires was born on 22 September 1976 in
Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population of the municipality in 20 ...
, Portugal, a suburb of Lisbon situated across the
Tagus River The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...
. She started singing professionally at the age of eight, participating in various children's festivals. In 1989, at age 12, she won the ''Grande Noite do Fado''.Reader's Digest "Selections" interview – Part 2 (in Portuguese)
/ref> That year she represented Portugal at the
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
Song Festival in the Netherlands where she received second place and won the Danny Kaye Award for Best Interpreter. In 1991, she participated in the
Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...
representing Portugal with the song "Brother."archive.org page of all Sopot attendees (in Russian)
/ref> From there, she released albums in 1991 and 1992, ''Anabela'' and ''Encanto'' (''Charm''), released on the Ovação
fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...
music label.


Music career


1993: ''Festival RTP da Canção'' and Eurovision

On 10 January 1993, when Anabela was 16, she entered the
Festival RTP da Canção A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...
(''Rádio e Televisão de Portugal Song Festival''), where she competed in the first round's second heat and tied for joint first place with Grupo Até Jazz with their song "Pó de melhorar" (''Get well powder''). Both songs progressed to the final held on 11 March, where they competed against six other winners from various first round heats. In the end, Anabela won, and on 15 May she went on to represent Portugal in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1993 The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 15 May 1993 at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ), and pr ...
Eurovision 1993 page from eurovision.tv
/ref> in
Millstreet Millstreet () is a town in north County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 1,722. Millstreet is within the civil parish of Drishane, and within a Poor Law Union also called Millstreet. The Millstreet Union encompasse ...
, Ireland, with the song she performed at the Festival RTP da Canção, " A cidade (até ser dia)" ''(The city, until dawn)''.A cidade até ser dia information from eurovision.tv
/ref> She placed tenth with 60 points from various competing countries. It was Portugal's first top ten ranking in the Contest in two years, and only the second top ten placement since 1980.Portugal country profile information from eurovision.tv
/ref> The song was the lead single on her third album, also called ''A cidade, até ser dia.''


1996–2002: Solo work and musical theater debut

Her fourth album was released in 1996 and was called ''Primeiras Águas'' (''First Water''), which yielded the hit song "Avenidas" written by Clara Pinto Correia and Rui Veloso. That year she also participated in Filipe La Féria's children's musical ''Jasmim ou o Sonho do Cinema'' (''Jasmine: The Dream of Cinema''). In 1999, Anabela worked with La Féria again, starring in the musical ''Koko''. She released another album that same year, heralded by
HMV HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson. The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...
Japan as "the new generation of
fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...
,"HMV listing and review of "Origens" (in Japanese)
/ref> called ''Origens'' (''Sources''). In 2000, she recorded four tracks with the Galician musician Carlos Núñez for his album ''Mayo Longo'' (''Long May''), and participated in the promotional tour, which lasted two and a half years and took her around the world. Returning to Portugal in 2002, she continued her association with La Féria, playing protagonist Eliza Doolittle in the Lisbon production of ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...
''.


2005: Experimental album

In 2005, she released her first album in six years, which was an interpretation of poems called ''Aether''. With the help of Carlos Maria Trindade, she interpreted the poems of Portuguese writers
Florbela Espanca Florbela Espanca (; born , ) was a Portuguese poet. She is known for her passionate and feminist poetry. Fernando Pessoa later said she was his "twin soul". Early life Born Flor Bela d'Alma da Conceição on 8 December 1894 in Vila Viçosa, P ...
,
Fernando Pessoa Fernando António Nogueira de Seabra Pessoa (; ; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, and publisher. He has been described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th c ...
,
Manuel Alegre Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte (born 12 May 1936) is a Portuguese poet and politician. He was a candidate to the presidency of the Portuguese Republic in 2006 and 2011, finishing in second place in both elections. For his literary work, he was awa ...
and
José Carlos Ary dos Santos José Carlos Pereira Ary dos Santos , better known as José Carlos Ary dos Santos, or simply Ary dos Santos (Lisbon, 7 December 1937 – Lisbon, 18 January 1984) was a Portuguese poet, lyricist, and poetry reader. He published his first book, ...
. She also released a Spanish version of her album on Resistencia Records. In March 2006, she performed three special concerts in Spain and two in the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
,Anabela nos «Concertos Íntimos» dos Açores (in Portuguese) – elec3city.net
performing some of the works on the ''Aether'' album.


2006–present: ''Música no Coração'', ''Jesus Cristo Superstar'' and ''Amor Sem Barreiras''

In 2006 Anabela and popular singer
Lúcia Moniz Ana Lúcia Pereira Moniz (born 9 September 1976) is a Portuguese singer and actress. Moniz represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 and has released five music albums She has also acted in several television shows, in theat ...
took turns playing the part of
Maria von Trapp Maria Augusta von Trapp Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), DHS (; 26 January 1905 – 28 March 1987), often styled as "Baroness", was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family, Trapp Family Singers. She wrote ''The Story of the ...
in ''Música no Coração'' (roughly translated as ''Music in the Heart''), the Portuguese production of ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...
'' at the
Teatro Politeama The Teatro Politeama is a theatre in Lisbon, Portugal that opened in 1913. History Teatro Politeama was conceived by Luís António Pereira. Buying land on what is now the Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, close to the ''Coliseu dos Recreios'', a ...
in Lisbon. This was a continuation of Anabela's working relationship with La Féria, as he directed the production. In December 2007 the show was taken on the road to
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, where Anabela reprised her role at the Teatro Rivoli with Wanda Stuart. The musical celebrated its 500th show in Portugal in April 2008 and finished its run on 4 May 2008. Taking a break of less than a month Anabela returned to the stage on 30 May 2008 at the Teatro Politeama, in Lisbon, working again with La Féria. She stepped into the role of Mary Magdalene in ''Jesus Cristo Superstar'', the Lisbon production of ''
Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
'', taking over the part from Sara Lima. For the entire month of August 2008, Anabela and the entire company performed the musical in
Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...
, in the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
. In 28 November 2008 she participated in La Féria's newest musical production, ''Amor Sem Barreiras'', the Portuguese adaptation of ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'', at Lisbon's Politeama. Anabela plays the role of Anita, the sensual and confident woman whose boyfriend is the leader of the Sharks, a gang composed by the first generation of Americans from
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. Again, her part is performed in turns with Lúcia Moniz. Talking about her character, Anabela confessed it is her "career's greatest challenge. Completely different from what I have been doing so far." She further explains that "the attitude, poise and voice are very distinct from mine and clash with the roles of young innocent girl that I am used to performing."


Dubbing

In addition to being a recording artist and stage actress, Anabela is also known for her dubbing work as a singing voice. For Disney she was the singing voices for
Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki *, a Russian film directed by Yevgeni Kotov * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', a 1989 and 1991 ...
in ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'', the
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
in ''
Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...
'' and
Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( ; ; or ) is a German fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and it was published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Grimms' story was developed from the French literary fairy tale ...
in ''
Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American animated musical film, musical Adventure film, adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in th ...
''. In addition to her Disney voices, she was the singing voice for Kayley in '' The Quest for Camelot'' for Warner Bros. and the singing voice for Miriam in ''
The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...
'' for DreamWorks.


Discography

*''Anabela'' (CD, Ovação, 1991) *''Encanto'' (CD, Ovação, 1992) *''A cidade, até ser dia'' (CD, Discossete, 1993) *''Primeiras Águas'' (CD, Movieplay, 1996) *''Origens'' (CD, Movieplay, 1999) *''Aether'' (CD, Elec3city, 2005) *''Encontro'' (CD, Zona Música, 2006) (duet album with Carlos Guilherme) *''Nós'' (CD, iPlay, 2010)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braz Pires, Anabela 1976 births Living people People from Almada Portuguese fado singers Portuguese musical theatre actors Portuguese pop singers Portuguese women pop singers Portuguese voice actresses Portuguese actresses 21st-century Portuguese women singers 20th-century Portuguese women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants