Maysa Figueira Monjardim (June 6, 1936 – January 22, 1977), better known as Maysa Matarazzo, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, performer and actress. She is also associated with Bossa nova music but is widely known as a

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

(''fossa'') interpreter.

Biography

The daughter of Alcibíades Guaraná Monjardim and Inah Figueira, Matarazzo showed talent at a young age and by twelve had written a

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

song, which later became a hit from her first album. She married André Matarazzo Filho, a member of a wealthy and traditional São Paulo family, and descendant of

Count Francesco Matarazzo Francesco Antonio Maria Matarazzo, Count Matarazzo (March 9, 1854 in Castellabate – December 10, 1937 in São Paulo, Brazil), was an Italian-born Brazilian businessman who created a large business in South America, particularly in Brazil. Bi ...

in 1954 at the age of 18 and two years later had a son,

Jayme Jayme is a unisex given name and a surname which may refer to: Given name: * Jayme Alaric de Perpignan, ambassador from Pope Clement IV and James I of Aragon to the Mongol ruler Abaqa Khan in 1267 * Jayme de Almeida (born 1953), Brazilian football ...

, who later would become a television director. In the late 1950s she formed a successful bossa nova group. Her tour to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

was a great success, and extended to Chile and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, but Matarazzo had an affair with the show's producer,

Ronaldo Bôscoli Ronaldo Fernando Esquerdo Bôscoli, usually known as Ronaldo Bôscoli, or just Bôscoli (October 28, 1928 in Rio de Janeiro – November 18, 1994) was a Brazilian composer, songwriter, record producer and journalist A journalist is a p ...

, a journalist and composer linked romantically to bossa nova's muse

Nara Leão Nara Lofego Leão (; January 19, 1942 – June 7, 1989) was a Brazilian bossa nova and MPB (popular Brazilian music) singer and occasional actress. Leão was married twice, to Ruy Guerra and subsequently Carlos Diegues, both film directors. ...

. This led to a break between Nara and Ronaldo, as well as a fracture in the bossa nova movement. Matarazzo became "persona non grata" both to the bossa-novistas and the protest singers and her career faltered. She reacted by marrying Spaniard music producer Miguel Anzana, with whom she moved to Spain and began a series of presentations not only in Spain, but also

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 ...

, Italy and France. Her personal life, already tumultuous, became even more chaotic, leading to her being called "the

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

of Bossa Nova". But she later made a comeback with one of the first notable shows in Rio's "Canecão" venue, the equivalent of

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

NYC New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive wit ...

. Matarazzo also played the Olympia in Paris to a full house twice and enjoyed considerable success in Europe. Upon her return to Brazil, Matarazzo continued to blend her "broken love affair" trademarks with the more current festival style and occasional bossa nova hits. In the 1970s Matarazzo acted in a few

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

s in Brazil. She also composed the soundtrack for a

Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...

telenova just as the TV network became the powerhouse of Brazilian soap operas. She died in a car crash in 1977, on the Rio-Niterói bridge, which connects the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói over the Guanabara Bay.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

/ref> In January 2009, 32 years after her death, a miniseries about her life was broadcast on Brazilian television and spanned two new books about one of Brazil's most charismatic divas. Matarazzo's style influenced the following generations of Brazilian female singers and composers, with great ascendancy in the works of Simone,

Cazuza Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto, better known as Cazuza (; April 4, 1958 – July 7, 1990), was a Brazilian singer and songwriter, born in Rio de Janeiro. Along with Raul Seixas, Renato Russo and Os Mutantes, Cazuza, both while fronting Barão ...

Leila Pinheiro Leila Pinheiro (born October 16, 1960, in Belém) is a Brazilian Bossa Nova singer, pianist and composer. Her self-titled debut album had the guest performances of Tom Jobim, João Donato, Ivan Lins, Francis Hime, and Toninho Horta, and she la ...

Fafá de Belém Fafá de Belém, born Maria de Fátima Palha de Figueiredo in Belém do Pará on August 9, 1956, is a Brazilian singer considered one of the great female singers of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira). She took her stage name from the city of her ...

and Ângela Rô Rô.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Convite para ouvir Maysa'' (1956) * ''Maysa'' (1957) * ''Convite para ouvir Maysa n. 2'' (1958) * ''Convite para ouvir Maysa n. 3'' (1958) * ''Convite para ouvir Maysa n. 4'' (1959) * ''Maysa É Maysa... É Maysa... É Maysa'' (1959) * ''Voltei'' (1960) * ''Maysa Canta Sucessos'' (1960) * ''Maysa, Amor... E Maysa'' (1961) * ''Barquinho'' (1961) * ''Maysa Sings Songs Before Dawn'' (1961) * ''Canção do Amor Mais Triste'' (1962) * ''Maysa'' (1964) * ''Maysa'' (1966) * ''Maysa'' (1969) * ''Ando Só Numa Multidão de Amores'' (1970) * ''Maysa'' (1974)

Compilation albums

* ''Os Grandes Sucessos de Maysa'' (1959) * ''A Música de Maysa'' (1960) * ''Ternura… é Maysa'' (1965) * ''Dois na Fossa- Maysa & Tito Madi'' (1975) * ''Para sempre Maysa'' (1977) * ''Bom é Querer Bem'' (1978) * ''Serie Retrospecto vol. 3'' (1979) * ''Convite para ouvir Maysa'' (1988) * ''Maysa por ela mesma'' (1991) * ''Canecão apresenta Maysa'' (1992) * ''Tom Jobim por Maysa – Viva Maysa'' (1993) * ''Maysa'' (1996) * ''Tom Jobim por Maysa'' (1997) * ''Bossa Nova por Maysa'' (1997) * ''Barquinho'' (2000) * ''Simplesmente Maysa'' (2000) * ''Quatro em Um – Volume 13'' (2001) * ''Retratos – Maysa'' (2004) * ''Novo Millennium'' (2005)

References

External links