‘Beatriz’, a waltz by Chico Buarque and Edu Lobo, has had the fate of becoming an MPB standard for 40 years

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Released in 1983 on the soundtrack of the ballet ‘O grande circo místico’, in the voice of Milton Nascimento, the song has a verse changed by the author of the lyrics after four decades. ♪ MEMORY – In March, Chico Buarque announced a change in the lyrics of Beatriz, written by the artist on the melody of a waltz created by Edu Lobo in 1982 when the composers were creating the soundtrack for the ballet O grande circus mystico, commissioned by the playwright and director Naum Alves de Souza (1942 – 2016). Chico decided to change one word of the verses “Sera que é divina / A vida da actress”. The word “life” was replaced by “sina” and, in the final stretch of the tour of the show Que tal um samba?, singer Mônica Salmaso began to voice the verses “Será que é divina / A sina da actress” whenever Beatriz sang. Witty, Edu Lobo approved the change and joked that the waltz took 40 years to complete. Yes, Beatriz turns 40 in 2023. Although composed in 1982 for the soundtrack of the Ballet Teatro Guaíra show, the waltz was released on record in 1983 in the divine voice of Milton Nascimento and, since then, has fulfilled the fate of become one of the most beautiful standards in Brazilian music. Even though it was never a hit in the strict sense, especially because it never played on the radio, Beatriz is the most popular song from the fabulous score of O grande circo místico, a ballet created with inspiration from the poem of the same name written by the Alagoas novelist Jorge de Lima (1893 – 1953 ) and published in 1938. Even though the ballet’s soundtrack contains other masterpieces from the composers’ partnership, such as Sobre todos as tudos and The story of Lily Braun, Beatriz is the music that has most seduced performers over these 40 years . Interpreters who are generally entranced when they notice that the harmony between music and lyrics is so precise that the lowest note in Beatriz’s score falls on the word floor in the verse “Teach me not to walk with my feet on the floor” while the highest note rises above the word sky in the verse “If she one day falls from the sky”. For many ears, Milton Nascimento’s original recording – released in 1983 on the album with the original soundtrack for the ballet O grande circo místico – still reigns supreme as Beatriz’s most beautiful recording over these 40 years. However, attentive listeners also value the sublime recordings by Cida Moreira (presented in 1993 on the album in which the singer performs Chico Buarque’s songbook), Mônica Salmaso (on the 2007 album dedicated to Chico’s repertoire, on the 2008 album that brought together the singer with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra and also in the live recording of the show with songs by Chico which became a DVD in 2009) and Virgínia Rodrigues (on the album Recomeço, from 2008). The approaches to Beatriz by the singers Cláudia (on an album recorded with Zimbo Trio and released in 1994), Gal Costa (1945 – 2002) (in the Songbook Edu Lobo, from 1995) and Zizi Possi (on the album Puro pleasure and on the Songbook Chico Buarque, both from 1999). Interestingly, if the creator of the melody Edu Lobo officially recorded Beatriz no less than five times over these 40 years, on albums presented between 1995 and 2023, Chico Buarque – author of the lyrics woven with imagery verses – never included the waltz in his official discography. of the singer. In any case, the documentary DVD Bastidores (2008) includes a recording of Beatriz with Chico and Edu in a retrospective of the work created by the composer for the theater. Even without a formal recording by Chico Buarque, the Beatriz waltz has beautifully continued its fate for 40 years of becoming an MPB standard, one of the most perfect and seductive songs in Brazilian music of all time.

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