News: West End star Lara Martins releases debut album Canção

West End star Lara Martins has released her debut album Canção.

Best known for being the longest-serving Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera, this eclectic album features 22 songs encompassing Brazilian music and Portuguese fado with the theatricality of a West End performer.

After joining the London company of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Martins went on to star in the role of Carlotta more than 1680 times across six years.

An award-winning, experienced international singer, the singer has performed in operas around the world including roles in The Magic Flute and Candide. She has performed in Russia to Switzerland and from Portugal to the UK, with gala concerts at many of the world’s finest opera houses including Opera de Toulon, Opera de Marseille, Opera d’Avignon and the Floral Hall at the Royal Opera House, London.

Each song on Canção forms part of a careful selection of important musical and cultural influences on Lara’s career and life, as she says in her own words, “A reflection of the society in which it is found, this repertoire also represents a collective identity, acting as a link in the intercultural chain. With this principle in mind, and with my own cultural roots as a starting point, I decided to explore the triangle between the Tango (Astor Piazzolla), Brazilian music (Guarnieri) and Fado (three themes which Amália Rodrigues made her own), with the addition of a touch of modernity in the form of two miniatures by Daniel Bernardes.”

Check out the latest theatre news.