Portuguese actress and singer (1842-1929)
Amélia Augusta da Assunção Barros, better known as Amélia Barros (1842 – 1929) was a Portuguese actress and lyrical singer, known for excelling in operettas in both Portugal and Brazil.
Early life.
Barros was born on 9 March 1842, on Rua da Cruz a Rilhafoles, in the parish of Pena in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. She was the daughter of José Inácio de Barros and his wife, Angélica Lúcia do Espírito Santo Santana. At the age of 16, on 7 July 1858, in the Church of Santa Isabel, Lisbon, she married António Pereira, a soldier born in the municipality of Lamego in the north of the country, who was 16 years her elder.
Career.
She began her acting career as an amateur actress in 1860, at the "Teatro da Esperança" in Funchal on the island of Madeira. She then moved to the Azores where she stayed for a few years in Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island and received much appreciation in the drama "Os Homem Ricos" (The Rich Men), by Ernesto Biester. In 1875, she made her debut at the "Teatro do Príncipe Real", in Porto, in the operetta "Joan of Arc", with music by Gomes Cardim, with great success. She then moved to the "Teatro da Rua dos Condes" in Lisbon, where she performed the 3-act comedy "A Tia Maria". On 7 September 1876, she joined the "Teatro da Trindade" in Lisbon and there performed "Um Favor de Procópio", a comedy in one act; "Nem Quero ao Mar" by Quirino Chaves; "Valentim o Diabrete", a comic opera in three acts, and "Amazonas de Tormes", a zarzuela. When Delfina do Espírito Santo left the theatre, she replaced her in the role of "Queen Clementina" in "Bluebeard" (1880), a burlesque opera in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach. In 1882, at the "Teatro do Rato" in Lisbon, she performed a revival of "A Tia Maria".
In 1885, Barros went on tour to Brazil, returning to the "Trindade" in 1887, where she remained until 1919. Among her performances in this theatre, she appeared in "O Homem da Bomba", a three-act vaudeville, and created the role of "Zepherine", in the 5-act drama "Dois Garotos" (Two boys), by Pierre Decourcelle. In 1898, she played "Joaquina", in "Falar Verdade a Mentir" (Telling truth to lie), a comedy by Almeida Garrett, and appeared in "Boccacio", a 3-act comic opera with music by Franz von Suppé. The same year, she joined an artistic company organized by António de Sousa Bastos to perform in Brazil. In 1900, back at the "Trindade", she shone in the role of "Carlota" in "O Homem das Mangas" (The Mango Man).
After that she became a member of the "Companhia de Ópera Cómica Portuguesa", the "Companhia da Trindade", the "Companhia Taveira" and several other Lisbon theatre companies, acting alongside some of the best-known actresses of 19th century Portuguese theatre, such as Auzenda de Oliveira, Maria Matos, Palmira Bastos, Mercedes Blasco, Zulmira Miranda, and Ana Pereira. In this period she performed in many highly successful operettas, comedies, revues and musicals by Portuguese and international writers and composers, including Franz Lehár. In 1914 she again went on tour to Brazil, to much acclaim.
Death.
Already retired from the theatre, Barros died in Lisbon on 9 January 1929 of natural causes She was buried in a tomb at the Prazeres Cemetery in Lisbon. She had one son.
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