Madalena Music has announced the release of Revisiting Elis Regina – the debut album Brazilian-born, New York-based singer and actor Darwin Del Fabro – in digital and streaming formats today Friday, January 26. Del Fabro, who uses he/they pronouns, is best known for Blumhouse Productions’ acclaimed slasher film They/Them, directed by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan. Singing in Portuguese, Del Fabro reinvents classic songs of the iconic Brazilian singer Elis Regina (1945-1982), using a sophisticated and understated vocal delivery with powerful emotional currents and ethereal flourishes, supported by elegantly subtle strings and brass. Revisiting Elis Regina is produced by two-time Latin Grammy Award-nominated pianist, singer and arranger Delia Fischer, who also serves as music director. Stream or download the album at tratore.ffm.to/revisitandoelisregina
Elis Regina, considered among South America’s pioneering and influential vocalists; according to The New York Times, she “was Brazil’s Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Linda Ronstadt rolled into one. She discovered and encouraged the finest songwriters in Brazilian popular music, and she taught the next generations of singers the combination of lightness and sensuality, supple rhythms and melting emotion.” Regina’s legacy was recently highlighted in the lauded documentary, Elis & Tom: It Had to Be You, which was released in theaters last fall after making a splash in the 2023 AFI Latin American Film Festival.
Del Fabro – like Regina, born in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul – comments, “Elis helped to teach me to take ownership of myself, to be free. I was enchanted by this woman who went against the standards of her time. She was small and wore her hair short. She was delicate, but also quite rough…. Elis was everything at the same time.”
The idea to revisit Regina’s fabled repertoire is closely linked to Del Fabro’s desire to find himself again in Brazil, eight years after moving to New York. “I came back to rediscover and embrace a version of myself that I had left behind,” Del Fabro explains. “I wanted to channel my experiences of being a non-binary person in Rio into singing the complex narratives and blissful melodies of Elis Regina’s hits. Returning to my mother tongue while performing the songs of the greatest singer of her time is a dream come true.”
Del Fabro reinterprets Regina classics such as “Atrás da porta” (“Behind the Door”), “O bêbado e a equilibrista” (“The Drunk and the Tightrope Walker”), “Casa no campo” (“Country House”), “Alô, alô, marciano” (“Hello, Hello, Martian”), “Tatuagem” (“Tattoo”) and others. In contrast to Regina’s intense delivery, Del Fabro seeks to underline the text, to emphasize the stories told in the songs. “I want to convey these messages strongly but delicately,” he says. “Like I’m right next to you, singing into your ear.”
Delia Fischer, album producer and music director, assembled a team of sought-after musicians who are major players in the MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) genre. Regarding their fruitful collaboration, Darwin comments: “Delia Fischer is a legendary artist of Brazilian music. Apart from her obvious talent, she is a generous and genuine person. I’ve never felt so connected with material I’ve recorded, and I owe a great deal of that to Delia’s energy in the studio. It was magical experience, and I am confident that the listener will feel that magic too.”
Darwin Del Fabro is a veteran of Brazil’s celebrated musical theater scene, having performed in Fiddler on the Roof and The Wizard of Oz, both helmed by top directors Charles Möeller and Claudio Botelho, and in the original Brazilian production of Shrek The Musical, directed by Diego Ramiro. Del Fabro produced, directed and starred in the musical Be Careful, It’s My Heart, featuring songs by Irving Berlin, which later was turned into an album. He also created and produced the play Lili, inspired by Lili Elbe’s diary and has directed Vera Do Canto e Melo, his mentor and voice coach, in the “The American Songbook” at the Claro theater in Rio de Janeiro.
Del Fabro debuted on Brazilian TV in 2016 playing Collete D’Or in Globo TV’s mini-series adaptation of the beloved book, Tony Award-winning play and Oscar-winning film Dangerous Liaisons, starring Brazilian actress Patricia Pillar and actor Selton Mello. Before moving to New York, he was seen in the soap opera “Novo Mundo” (2017), also on Globo TV.
In the United States, Del Fabro received rave reviews for his performance as Dominic in Real at The Tank. Also in New York, he starred as Adam in The Feather Doesn’t Fall Far from The Tree at the Signature Theater and as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As a musician, he debuted at the 54 Below with the sold-out show “Darwin Del Fabro in NY,” which included hits of Antônio Carlos Jobim and Frank Sinatra, among others.
Del Fabro is one of the protagonists in the LGBTQIA+ slasher film, They/Them, currently streaming on Peacock. The film – which marks the directorial debut of the Tony Award and Golden Globe-winning screenwriter and playwright John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator, Skyfall, Red) – tells the story of queer empowerment set in a gay conversion camp. The cast also includes Kevin Bacon, Anna Chlumsky, and Carrie Preston.
Del Fabro has released two EPs: Revisiting Jobim, Parts 1 and 2, which explore the immortal songs of Antônio Carlos Jobim, with songs including “Wave,” “Desafinado,” and “Água de Beber,” among many others.
Darwin Del Fabro “Revisiting Elis Regina” – Track List
1. Introduction
2. Como nossos pais
3. Velha roupa colorida
4. Tatuagem
5. Alô, alô Marciano
6. O bêbado e a equilibrista
7. Casa no campo
8. Atrás da porta
9. O que tinha de ser
10. Fascinação
