ABSTRACT
For the Portuguese elite, involvement in the First World War was a way in to modernity. In these years, the music industries in general, and the musical theatre in particular, played a central role in the ‘coming of age’ of Portuguese society. It was the time of the timid flourishing of the local music business: all the major international phonographic companies (Lindstrom’s group, Columbia, Victor, Pathé, etc.) were active promoting recording sessions of teatro de revista (musical theatre) popular songs by local artists; some local companies were publishing scores and lyrics of famous tunes; a network of theatres and active producers began to operate (a production circuit whose density was never repeated); some newspapers, dedicated to theatrical life and music (especially fado), began to be published. Lisbon was trying really hard to enter ‘the age of the Jazz-Band’ (Ferro 1923), to enter the twentieth century. Through the study of popular song production its context and repertoire, in particular the 106 revistas premiered during the war years, we, not only will explore the show business network and the ideological-cultural context of Portuguese society, but also the formation of one of Portugal’s most representative musical genres: fado.
