Vertigo: An encounter between fado and tango
The Portuguese multi-award-winning fado singer LINA_ joins forces with the two-time Latin Grammy winner (2019 and 2023) Astor Piazzolla Quintet, direct heir to the Argentine genius who revolutionized tango, for an unprecedented performance entitled Vertigo, that brings together two musical universes made of passion, truth, and innovation. The repertoire builds bridges between the great fados immortalized by the acclaimed Portuguese singer Amália Rodrigues and Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango.

For Julian Vat, artistic director of the Quinteto Astor Piazzolla, this collaboration is “a meeting between two cultures that share an identical origin: both are musics born in port cities, that understand the concept of absence and loss.” For the director of the Quintet, there is another very important common point: the idea of a “vertiginous journey” that is as present in tango as in fado, in the sense that both are musical expressions deeply connected to profound emotional issues where life always seems to hover over the idea of an abyss, whether it is love, passion, despair, or longing. Vat also highlights his admiration for LINA_’s voice, describing it as “profoundly emotional, full of truth, a pure voice with a very distinctive style.”

This musical dialogue stems from a key observation: both Piazzolla and Amália were visionary artists, capable of transforming their traditions — tango and fado — into contemporary and universal languages without losing authenticity. It is this legacy of innovation that guides the project. “It will be an interesting challenge for LINA_ to sing music that has a rhythmic pulse different from fado,” admits Julian Vat, anticipating a performance that is, above all, a tribute to the ability of tango and fado to reinvent themselves through encounter and sharing. In addition to the Quintet’s musicians, the show will also feature a twelve-string Portuguese guitar player, so that the meeting between fado and tango will be even deeper.

LINA_
Few voices resonate more deeply and authentically than LINA_’s. After beginning to sing at the Círculo Portuense de Ópera (Porto) and studying at the Conservatory, she found in fado her voice and her natural territory. Still under the artistic name Carolina, she recorded two albums, and in 2020, surprised audiences with Lina_Raül Refree, an album in which the Catalan producer (known for his work with Rosalía) brought new electronic textures to her interpretation of fado. The project was widely acclaimed by the international press — from The Guardian to Songlines — and earned her awards such as the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics’ Award). In 2024, she once again received global acclaim with her homage to Portugal’s greatest poet, Luís Vaz de Camões, in Fado Camões. Thanks to this distinguished career – which includes the two most recent albums released in 2025 – Terra Mãe with Jules Maxwell (Irish composer and keyboardist from Dead Can Dance) and O Fado with Marco Mezquida (Spanish composer and pianist) – LINA_ has established herself as one of the most singular voices of contemporary fado, uniting tradition and experimentation with rare intensity.

Astor Piazzolla Quintet
For over twenty-five years, The Astor Piazzolla Quintet has preserved and bestowed the legacy of the revolutionary bandoneon player and composer Astor Piazzolla.
Throughout their extensive career, the Quintet has toured internationally across the United States, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, earning unanimous praise from critics and numerous prestigious awards. Among their most notable achievements are two Latin Grammy Awards for Best Tango Album (2019 and 2023), further cementing their status and prestige worldwide.
The Quintet keeps alive Piazzolla’s vast body of work, who transformed the tango into a unique art form. Their music takes listeners to a journey that connects the past with the present, preserving the essence of one of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century