Maria Bethânia Viana Teles Veloso (born 18 June 1946) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Born in Santo Amaro, Bahia, she started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião" ("Opinion"). Due to its popularity, with performances all over the country, and the popularity of her 1965 single "Carcará", the artist became a star in Brazil.

Bethânia is the sister of the singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso and of the writer-songwriter Mabel Velloso, as well as being aunt of the singers Belô Velloso and Jota Velloso. The singer has released 50 studio albums in 47 years of career, and is among the 10 best-selling music artists in Brazil, having sold more than 26 million records. Bethânia was ranked in 2012, by Rolling Stone Brasil magazine, as the fifth-biggest voice of Brazilian music.

Bethânia is the sixth out of eight children born into the family of José Telles Veloso (Seu Zeca), a government official, and Claudionor Viana Telles Veloso (Dona Canô), a housewife.

The name Maria Bethânia was chosen by her brother Caetano Veloso after the homonymous hit song written by composer Capiba and famous at the time in the voice of Nélson Gonçalves.

In her childhood, she had aspirations to become an actress. However, her mother was a musician, so music was prevalent in the Veloso household. Though Bethânia was born in Santo Amaro da Purifição, her family moved to Salvador, Bahia when she was 13. The move allowed her to experience the bohemian, intellectual circles of the city, as well as to visit theaters. When she was 16, her brother Caetano Veloso invited her to sing in a film for which he was producing the soundtrack, but she refused. Nevertheless, the film's director, Álvaro Guimarães, liked her voice and invited the young musician to perform in the 1963 Nélson Rodrigues's musical Boca de Ouro. This time Bethânia accepted, and for the first time in her life she went on stage to sing for an audience, opening the play performing a samba by Ataulfo Alves.

That same year, Bethãnia and her sister met singers Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa; Caetano had been invited to put on an MPB show to inaugurate the Teatro Vila Velha. The four artists got together and, in 1964, staged Nós, por exemplo (We, for example).

The show was a success and was presented again twenty months later, with the participation of singer-songwriter Tom Zé. That same year, the group mounted another show called Nova Bossa Velha e Velha Bossa Nova (New Old Bossa and Old New Bossa). Still in that year, directed by Caetano and Gil, Bethânia performed another musical, this time on her own, called Mora na Filosofia (Lives in Philosophy).

She began performing again with her brother, as well as Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Tom Zé, at the opening of the Vila Velha Theater in the next year. During one of these performances, the bossa nova musician Nara Leão offered her an opportunity to take her place in a series of performances titled "Opinião". ...

Source: Article "Maria Bethânia" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Maria Bethânia Teles Veloso, dite Maria Bethânia, née à Santo Amaro (État de Bahia) le 18 juin 1946, est une chanteuse brésilienne, deuxième artiste en matière de ventes de disques au Brésil, la première dans le style MPB, avec 26 millions d'exemplaires. Elle a pour surnom Abelha-rainha (Reine des abeilles) à cause du premier vers de la chanson qui donne le nom au LP Mel (Miel) de 1979. Elle est considérée par beaucoup de brésiliens comme l'une des plus grandes chanteuses de l'histoire du Brésil. Elle est la sœur du chanteur-compositeur Caetano Veloso et de l'écrivain-poète Mabel Veloso.

Née à Santo Amaro dans l'État de Bahia), elle est la sixième fille de José Teles Veloso (Seu Zezinho), fonctionnaire de la poste brésilienne, et de Claudionor Viana. Elle est la sœur de Mabel Velloso et de Caetano Veloso, et tante de la chanteuse Belô Velloso et de Jota Velloso.

C'est son frère Caetano qui choisit son nom inspiré d'une chanson célèbre à cette époque, la valse Maria Betânia, du compositeur Capiba, un succès du chanteur Nélson Gonçalves.

Maria Bethânia est devenue l'une des principales interprètes de la musique brésilienne, tout comme Caetano, un des plus grands chanteurs et compositeurs brésiliens contemporains, connu mondialement.

Bethânia est née dans la ville de Santo Amaro da Purificação (aujourd'hui Santo Amaro) et, du fait d'avoir vécu avec la religion catholique avec des influences du Candomblé, elle est adepte de plusieurs saints.

Aujourd'hui considérée comme la plus grande interprète de sa génération, avec Elis Regina, Maria Bethânia rêvait pendant son enfance d'être actrice, mais son don pour la musique était plus grand. Elle participa dans sa jeunesse à des spectacles semi-amateurs en compagnie de Tom Zé, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso et Gilberto Gil.

En 1960 elle part à Salvador où elle a l'intention de terminer ses études et où elle fréquente alors le milieu artistique, accompagnant son frère Caetano. En 1963, elle est prise comme chanteuse dans la pièce Boca de Ouro de Nelson Rodrigues. L'année suivante, elle participe à plusieurs spectacles comme Nós por Exemplo, Mora na Filosofia et Nova Bossa Velha, Velha Bossa Nova, aux côtés de son frère et de Gilberto Gil, alors compositeurs et chanteurs débutants, et également Gal Costa.

C'est le 13 février 1965 que démarre véritablement la carrière de Maria Bethânia, quand elle remplace la chanteuse et violoniste Nara Leão dans le spectacle Opinião, car celle-ci avait des problèmes de santé. Cette même année, elle rejoint la maison de disques RCA (devenue BMG puis Sony BMG) et enregistre son premier album qui sera lancé en juin de cette année. Son premier succès auprès du public et de la critique est une chanson militante, Carcará. Parmi les autres musiques du disque on peut citer Mora na filosofia, Andaluzia, Feitio de oração et Sol negro, la dernière étant un duo avec Gal Costa (qui utilisait encore à l'époque le nom de scène Maria da Graça).

Elle lança ensuite un triple album, Maria Bethânia canta Noel Rosa qui contient les chansons Três apitos, Pra que mentir, Pierrô apaixonado, Meu barracão, Último desejo et Silêncio de um minuto, accompagnées uniquement par la guitare de Carlos Castilho. ...

Source: Article "Maria Bethânia" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Maria Bethânia Viana Teles Veloso é uma cantora e compositora brasileira. Nascida em Santo Amaro, Bahia, iniciou sua carreira no Rio de Janeiro em 1964 com o espetáculo "Opinião". Devido à sua popularidade, com apresentações em todo o país, e à popularidade de seu single "Carcará" de 1965, a artista se tornou uma estrela no Brasil.

Bethânia é irmã do cantor e compositor Caetano Veloso e da compositora Mabel Velloso, além de tia das cantoras Belô Velloso e Jota Velloso. A cantora lançou 50 álbuns de estúdio em 47 anos de carreira e está entre os 10 artistas musicais mais vendidos do Brasil, tendo vendido mais de 26 milhões de discos. Bethânia foi eleita em 2012, pela revista Rolling Stone Brasil, como a quinta maior voz da música brasileira.