Biography
Actress, singer, director, producer, musician and writer, Bibi Ferreira was considered the Grand Dame of Brazilian stage. She sang, acted, directed and produced during her 72 year career. Born Abigail Izquierdo Ferreira on June 1, 1922, in Rio de Janeiro, her father was actor Procópio Ferreira and her mother was Spanish ballerina Aída Izquierdo.
Bibi was first seen on stage at just 24 days old, replacing a doll in the play Manhãs de Sol (Sunny Mornings) by Oduvaldo Viana. As a young child Bibi traveled with her mother throughout Latin America as part of the Companhia Velasco troupe of Spanish revues. At age three she was already singing and dancing on stage, becoming known as "la niña de Velasco". Her professional stage debut was at age 18 in the Italian play La Locandiera by Carlo Goldoni. Five years later she started her own theater company, Companhia de Comédias Bibi Ferreira.
During the 1950s she took her company to Portugal and performed throughout the country for five years. In the 1960s and 1970s Bibi hosted several television shows, such as Brasil 60, Brasil 61, Bibi ao Vivo, Bibi Especial, Brasil 78, and Brasil 79, just to name a few. She was boldly innovative and helped in shaping the format of studio audience shows. She hosted the television show Curso de Alfabetização para Adultos (Literacy Course for Adults), which taught more than 30,000 people in Brazil. For this she was awarded "Best Communicator" at Tokyo's International Culture Festival. Bibi was featured in the first live satellite transmission to Brazil, a television broadcast of the 1972 Academy Awards. During the 1960s, Bibi brought Broadway's biggest musicals to Brazil including My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly!, and Man of La Mancha.
In 1975 she debuted the iconic play Gota d'Água (A Drop of Water) by singer-songwriter Chico Buarque and Paulo Pontes. Another hallmark was 1983's Piaf-A Vida de uma Estrela da Canção (based on Piaf, written by British playwright Pam Gems), in which Bibi interpreted and sang Edith Piaf's famous repertoire. She performed Bibi Canta e Conta Piaf (Bibi Sings and Tells Piaf) in her shows. Her success in performing this work for more than 30 years all over the world has earned her the French government's highest artistic accolade, the Orde des Arts et des Lettres, twice (in 1985 and 2009). Bibi Canta e Conta Piaf was recorded at Teatro Maison de France in Rio de Janeiro in 2004 and released on DVD. Renowned French photographer Hughes Vassal, who captured Piaf's final years, heard Bibi perform and declared she was "the only artist capable of reliving the dramatic emotions of Edith Piaf."
During the 1990s, Bibi maintained a busy schedule of performances, singing such orchestral concerts as Bibi in Concert and Bibi in Concert II-Entertainer throughout Brazil and Europe. She was a highly praised director of concerts, operas, and plays. Many acclaimed Brazilian names performed under her direction, such as Maria Bethânia, Elizeth Cardoso, Clara Nunes, and Roberta Miranda. During a performances of Piaf-Uma Estrela da Canção, the Portuguese fado legend Amália Rodrigues saw Bibi and asked if she would portray Amália on stage. In 2001, at her 60th career anniversary celebration, Bibi performed Bibi Vive Amália (Bibi Lives Amália), singing the Portuguese fadista's greatest works. The production was an absolute triumph among critics and audiences alike in Brazil and Portugal. Bibi was the subject at Rio de Janeiro Carnival in 2003. She was honored by one of the samba schools, Unidos da Viradouro, where Brazilian artists paraded in her honor.
In 2004, she performed Bibi in Concert III-Pop. The play As Favas com os Escrúpulos, written by Juca de Oliveira and directed by Jô Soares, marked her return to spoken comedy after 54 years performing musicals. It performed to more than 300,000 people during its four year run. In 2010, she performed in De Pixinguinha a Noel, passando por Gardel (From Pixinguinha to Noel going through Gardel). She was featured alongside the renowned tango orchestra El Arranque at sold-out performances in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. According to the Argentinean newspaper La Nación, Bibi "left the city teaching us how to sing the tango." She recorded the album Bibi Ferreira and Miguel Proença Tangos, containing the most treasured tangos from her childhood memories. In 2011, she recorded the album Bibi Ferreira Brasileira - uma suíte amorosa, in which she sang Brazilian popular music classics. In 2012 she recorded the album Bibi Ferreira-Natal em família (Bibi Ferreira-Christmas in Family), a collection of popular Christmas songs. Bibi Histórias e Canções (Bibi, Stories and Songs), was a celebration of her 72- year career and 90th birthday celebration, where she sang and shared stories highlighting her life and career. On April 14, 2013, she presented Bibi in Concert at Lincoln Center in New York.
