Review: Cristina Branco at Theaters Tilburg
The concert hall was full, and I was trying to catch a glimpse of the scene from my back seat through the sea of white heads. Unfortunately, I was the only person in the audience who doesn’t remember Elvis Presley’s rise to fame.
Because of the high age average, there were two concerts given that night: one on the stage and the other one in the audience: a performance of loud coughing and rustling sounds of cough drop wrappings. The only younger fan was a teenage girl who looked utterly miserable, having been dragged there against her will by her parents.
Even though the Theaters Tilburg hosts serious concerts, its ceiling with flashy, colorful neon lights says otherwise. But as soon as Branco started singing, I forgot about my architectural dilemmas. The concert was a promotion of Branco’s new album “Fado Tango” and a celebration of mixing of musical traditions from Portugal and South America. She showed this cultural coexistence not only by combining tango with fado, but also by singing in three different languages: Portuguese, French and Spanish.
Her powerful voice seemed surprisingly delicate when she talked in between the songs. She was gradually dragging the audience into her sung stories, telling about the characters, the cities, and her inspirations. Although she ensured that Tilburg is a very beautiful city (laugher from the audience), it was clear where her heart belongs. Lisbon was a theme of most of the songs, and those were performed with the most visible emotional engagement.
