Real Fado concerts
It is already this Thursday, March 2, that Pavilhão Chinês will once again host the Real Fado concerts, which celebrate Lisbon’s traditional song, listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity – Fado. The concerts will take place every Thursday, at 7pm.
The first performance will feature the fado singer Filipa Biscaia, who will present a concert of Traditional Fado. Besides this opening concert, on the 2nd, Pavilhão Chinês will receive throughout the month of March fado singers such as Ana Margarida (9/03), Liliana Macedo (16/03), Marta Alves (23/03), and Sofia Ramos (30/03).
After a two-year interruption due to the pandemic, the Real Fado concerts return to one of their original venues. The No. 89 in Príncipe Real is noticed right at the entrance by its big red door, which you have to touch to get in. Once inside, there are five different rooms to explore, each one decorated in a peculiar way, where Luís Pinto Coelho’s private collection of small relics stands out. In truth, there are so many pieces displayed in the showcases that it is impossible to count them all.
Open since 1986, Pavilhão Chinês is now one of Lisbon’s most iconic night spots, and is considered by many to be a bar-museum where you can enjoy a unique atmosphere while savouring a signature cocktail.
Filipa Valle Teixeira, Leasing Manager at EastBanc Portugal, a company dedicated to the promotion and management of real estate assets with a special focus on the urban revitalization of Príncipe Real, and which has been promoting Real Fado for several years, comments: “These concerts have received visitors from all over the world and contributed to the dynamisation of the Príncipe Real neighbourhood, providing a unique experience that combines splendid views, romantic gardens, aristocratic mansions with the best of our Fado and that now also returns to one of the most emblematic spaces of the neighbourhood, the Chinese Pavilion, where the concerts take place in an intimate room, with everything good that the Pavilion has already accustomed us to. ”
For Joana Esparteiro, from Fados Fora de Portas, the producer responsible for the Real Fado project, “It is with great joy that the Fados Fora de Portas team – fadistas, musicians and production – returns to the concerts at Pavilhão Chinês. We thus resume the original format of the project with three concerts a week in three stunning venues in Príncipe Real. Over the years, we have received national and international clients looking for more than just to listen to Fado: they want to live an unforgettable experience to the sound of Fado – with performances by professional artists – in one-hour concerts, in a different format to that presented by Fado houses, and they can choose to have dinner, after the concert, in any of the wonderful restaurants in Príncipe Real.”
Real Fado was born six years ago in the Príncipe Real neighbourhood, with the aim of promoting intimate late afternoon fado concerts in unexpected and authentic locations, such as a 19th-century palace (EmbaiXada), an underground stone cistern in the heart of the neighbourhood (Reservatório da Patriarcal) and the visit-concerts at the Loreto Underground Gallery, providing an immersive experience. These unusual locations contrast with the authenticity of the concerts, with performances by artists in an informal, acoustic register.
You can consult upcoming concert schedules on Ticketline.