Rosa Emilia Dias, sensitive Bahian performer living in Rio at the time of her musical debut and today based in Venice, has had seven albums released in Brazil, Italy and Japan. In 1989, she won the Brazilian Sharp award as the most accomplished Brazilian musical interpreter.

In 2010,  Álbum de Retratos – Cacaso Parceiros e Canções entered the top 10 of the best albums released in Brazil.

Rosa Emilia  Sings Vinicius de Moraes 
 Life is the Art of the Encounter Show – 100 years of Vinicius de Moraes

Vinicius de Moraes wrote songs that became famous in the whole world and turned into faithful portraits of Brazil. The poet-singer knew how to be simple and essential with “Água de Beber” and “A Felicidade”, and also lyrical in the song “Eu sei que vou te amar”. He described the Brazilian way of being and the tropical cities like no one else with “Garota de Ipanema” and “Tarde em Itapoã”. The “father” of Bossa Nova changed the way of making music. Together with Tom Jobim he wrote “Chega de Saudade” – the song that would definitively change the way of composing in MPB – the Brazilian Popular Music.

In this concert, Rosa Emilia narrates the life, the loves and the work of Vinicius de Moraes through his songs, accompanied by the great names of contemporary Brazilian music in Italy today, like Silvio D’Amico – guitar and Gilson Silveira – percussions.

About Rosa

Singer and songwriter Rosa Emilia Dias started her career in Salvador de Bahia, where she sang and wrote poems. During a poetry meeting she met Cacaso, with whom she got married and moved to Rio de Janeiro. She trained as opera singer with soprano Victoria Elnecave and baritone Eladio Pérez González. From 1983, she met and worked with renowned artists such as Cacaso, Jaques Morelenbaum, Claudio Nucci, Marcos Suzano, Nelson Angelo, Sueli Costa, Danilo Caymmi, Novelli, Sérgio Santos, Paula Santoro, Cristovão Bastos, Robertinho Silva, Nelson Motta, Mario Adnet, Nó em Pingo D’Agua, Mario Sève, Muri Costa, Robertinho Silva, Lígia Diniz, Wanda Sá and many others. In Italy, from 1989, she worked with Fabrizio de André, Renato Sellani, Cristiano Verardo, Carlo Fava, Silvio D’Amico, Massimo Morricone, Stefano Bagnoli,  Nené Ribeiro, Írio de Paula, Roberto Taufic, Gilson Silveira, Marco Ponchiroli, Edu Hebling, and Francesco Casale, to name a few.

She released seven albums, Ultraleve (Grapho, produced by Cacaso, 1988), Nega Rosa (Lux Music, produced by Nelson Motta, New York, USA, 1997), Baiana da Guanabara (Lua Music, Collective Production, Italy and Brazil, 2004), Poesia do Brasil with Renato Sellani (Philology, Italy, 2006), Batuk with Cristiano Verardo (Cool Division, Italy, 2006), Album de Retratos – Cacaso, Parceiros e Canções, featuring Joyce, Sueli Costa, Nelson Angelo, Sérgio Santos, Zé Renato, Olívia Byington, Nando Carneiro, and Filó Machado – all Cacaso’s partners and Fundamental (GI-RO, 2013) with Giovanni Buoro.

Rosa developed an incredibly diverse range of musical partnerships. She was the producer and composer of the lounge album Sonho Tropical for the German brand Heineken along with the creative group ‘H20 Productions’ (Venice, Italy, 2004), and Sakura Mirai Creative Sound (Italy, 2003). She founded several creative groups and took part in a wide variety of musical projects: Nega Rosa, Batuk, H20, SERA (Stefano Cerri, Enzo Zirilli, Andrea Zuppini, and Rosa Emilia) Missa dos Quilombos, Ultraleve, Sitokanero, Bahia canta Caymmi, Tributo a Tom Jobim, and Noites Tropicais.

Along with Sérgio Bacelar, she was the director and coordinator of the project ‘Cacaso – Música e Poesia’, March 2009, for the Cultural Centres of the Brazilian Bank (CCBB) in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro.

“I met Rosa Emilia at the end of the 80s, when she was married to my musical partner Cacaso. Antonio Carlos de Brito, known as Cacaso in the world of music and poetry, was the unrivalled character of the 70s, one of the emblematic poets of the geraçāo mimeógrafo, the ‘mimeograph generation’, alongside Ana Cristin César, Chacal and many others. In music, he collaborated with Edu Lobo, Sueli Costa, Toninho Horta and many more. On top of that, he was a great character: that night, he showed up at a very fancy party at the Country Club (all the men dressed in suits), in jeans, flip-flops (Havaianas weren’t fashionable yet) and a beautiful girl from Bahia on his side, looking half his age – Rosa. They got married and lived an almost happily ever after, until his death at the age of about 42, due to a sudden heart attack. Rosa recorded a few albums. I listened to the first one as soon as it was released. I saw a promising voice and a future ahead of her. After Cacaso’s death, she moved to Italy, where she lives with her daughters to this day, and continues her career as a singer. She called me a few days ago, as she was finally working on a project with his songs and inviting his partners to participate. I recorded one of our collaborations, ‘Beira-Rio’, and she gave me her previous album as a gift, made in 2004 I think, ‘Baiana da Guanabara’, where she sings a repertoire by Nelson Angelo, another constant partner.

I went home listening to the CD in the car. I was expecting to find the good singer from the first album again, but for my surprise that was not a good singer, that was an incredible, extremely original singer. I loved her work and kept thinking: nowadays, when you call for a female singer in Brazil, hundreds will appear, it is so hard to find someone different from the standards. Except for Rosa, indeed! And all the interesting voices of Brazil, that luckily are always still to come.”

Joyce – 21/02/08

Album de Retratos – Reviews

Rio de Janeiro, 13th of March 2009 – “With a stellar line-up – brought together much more for affinity to the honoured than for display of mega production – this “Album de Retratos”, a “Portraits Album”, sixth album of the Bahian singer Rosa Emilia, based in Venice, underlines the relevance of the opus of the lyricist Cacaso. In collaborations with Filó Machado (Perfume de Cebola), Olivia Byngton (Clarão), Nelson Angelo (Deixa o barraco rolar), Sueli Costa (Eu Te Amo), Joyce (Beira Rio), Sergio Santos (Fazendeiro do Mar), Zé Renato (Lua de Vintém), who participated in the recording, the poet, cruising through the sweet yet firm voice of Rosa, exposes his lyricism refined by pain and humour.”   Jornal do Brasil, Tárik de Souza. Rio de Janeiro, 13 /03/ 2009.

The result is intimate and delicate, in tune with the elegance of verses such as in the songs “Eu Te Amo”, “Beira Rio” and “Album de Retratos” itself. With a few rare exceptions – such as “Clarão”, with Olívia Byington – the songs are not amongst Cacaso’s most famous ones, thus offering the opportunity to know something more of the poet’s talent.

In addition to being an album with the suggestive lyrics by poet and composer Cacaso, Album de Retratos counts two other important achievements: the intimacy of the singer with the work in question – Rosa Emilia has been Cacaso’s partner – and the coice of a simple arrangement, in substance only piano or guitar, played by the authors of the songs (Sueli Costa, Joyce, Nelson Ângelo, Zé Renato among others). Folha de S.Paulo, Fernando Vianna, São Paulo, 25/03/2009.

Main Discography:

Rosa Emilia Dias – L’arca dio Noè – Musica brasiliana per bambini- GI-RO- Italy, 2014
Rosa Emilia Dias & Giovanni Buoro- Fundamental – GI-RO- Italy, 2013
Rosa Emilia – Álbum de Retratos-Cacaso- Parceiros & Canções– Brazil, Italy, Japan,  2009
Renato Sellani & Rosa Emilia- Poesia do Brasil– Philology Jazz – Italy, 2006
Batuk – Cruzeiro do Sul– Cool:Division – Italy, 2006
Rosa Emilia – Baiana da Guanabara– Brazil, Italy, Japan,  2004
Rosa Emilia – Nega Rosa– Lux Music by Nelson Motta – USA, 1997
Rosa Emilia – Ultraleve -Brazil, 1988 (LP)

Featuring as special guest:
Mário Seve- Casa de Todo Mundo-2005
Rinaldo Donati-Casa Brasil- Energy Productions – Italy, 2004
Nelson Angelo-Mar de Mineiro Lua Discos – Brazil, 2003
Nené Ribeiro-Primogenito- Ethnoworld – Italy, 2002
Kal dos Santos-Yabás, as meninas dos meus olhos- Srijian – Italy, 1998
Pitura Freska -Gran Calma Psycho Records – Italy, 1997
Fabrizio de Andrè-Anime Salve BMG – Italy, 1996
Pitura Freska -Yeah Psycho Records – Italy, 1995
Marco Ponchiroli -Fast Marghera- Srazz Records – Italy, 1995
Pitura Freska -Duri i Banchi Psycho Records – Italy, 1993

Main Compilations:
Chill Out 2-Repubblica & L’Espresso – Italy, 2007
Ubi Jazz 2005 – Cool:Division – Italy, 2006
Sister’s Lounge – Cool:Division-Italy, 2005-Roma Alta Moda 2
Sonho Tropical- H20 productions- Italy, 2004
H2o Productions – Cool:Division– Italy, 2004
Heineken chill out- H20 Productions – Italy, 2004
Milano Fashion 2- H2O production-Cool:Division – Italy, 2003
Mirai Creative Sound -Sakura -H20 Productions -Italy, 2003
Storie Veneziane-Furlan Shop- Italy, 1999
O melhor da nova música italiana- Nuova Itália- Polygram – Brazil, 1996

In “Fundamental” (2013) Rosa reinterprets the classic tunes by Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, accompanied by Giovanni Buoro’s guitar.