Product: Maria Bethania - Tempo Tempo Tempo Tempo (2006)
Rating: 5.0
Great concert from great artist!
This lush, lovely concert from one of Brasil's great divas takes a long look at the music of her life and leaves you wanting more, even after 2+ hours! I'll refer you elsewhere to find out more about Maria Bethania, but this DVD is for anyone who likes her music even a little bit.Bethania herself is an institution, and she gives all of herself in this performance. The elaborate production does not detract from the intimacy of the performance, although I got a little tired of some of the excessive camera cuts and wished they would just leave it alone sometimes. The backing musicians are all first-rate, and the interplay among all of the performers is something to see. Even in an obviously well-rehearsed show, there is a lot of playfulness and space, and the joy they all take in sharing this music is evident.The song list is extensive, ranging from decades-old material to more recent songs, and serves as a primer on bossa nova and MPB (musica populara brasilera), not to mention tropicalia, from the latter half of the 20th centurty. Many are combined in fascinating and poignant ways (I wouldn't call them medleys) that pay homage to composers and singers.The extra interview with Bethania about lyrics and poetry is fascinating; words have always been as important as music for her. I recommend watching that.One very good thing about this DVD is that the subtitles include the lyrics of the songs, something I wish was done on more music DVDs.