Lara Li, stage name of Lara Pires Amendoeira born in Lisbon, December 28, 1958, is a Portuguese singer. The song “Telepathy” (1981) is her ex-libris.
At the age of 4, she goes to Mozambique with her parents, where she begins to learn solfege and piano at the age of 7, at Nª Srª dos Anjos College, in Beira, in front of a square where there was a Theater, which fascinated her. During her adolescence she participated in several variety shows in Lourenço Marques. In 1975, she released her debut single, three days before leaving for Lisbon.
1979, is the year of the single “Teu Ponto Final” and in 1980, she participates in the Festival RTP da Canção, with “E Pouco Mais”. That summer she released the single “Hoje Há Festa” which was a great success.
The album “Água na Boca” is released in 1981, which includes its ex libris theme “Telepatia” and “O Rapaz Do Cubo Mágico” which were edited as a single. The artistic partnership with Ana Zanatti and Nuno Rodrigues is already evident, with the former being responsible for the lyrics and the latter for the production. “O Rapaz Do Cubo Mágico” was also produced by Victor Perdigão and Danny Antonelli. The latter makes the theme available on its official website-
The album “Vem” was released in 1984 and participated in the Festival RTP da Canção with “Rapidamente”, a festival from which Dora wins, with “Não Sejas Mau P’ra Mim”.
In February 1987 the album “Quimera” was released, with the inclusion of versions of classic themes of Portuguese music such as “Nem à Paredes Confesso”, “Quimera de Ouro”, “Barco Negro” or “Sol de Verão”. The album included the unreleased “Jura” by the duo Carlos Tê/Rui Veloso (presented at the previous year’s Festival) and “Quarto Crescente” by Ana Zanatti and Cris Kopke.
Published in 1995 by Movieplay Portuguesa, S.A. The album “Consecências” is born, the result of a very close collaboration with Fernando Girão, who composed 9 of the 11 tracks solo and participated with Miguel Braga and Luís Tinoco on the remaining two. Fernando Girão also produced and directed the work, recorded at Namouche studios, in Lisbon. Of this CD, track nº 3 – “Eu Gosto Tanto De Ti”, with music by Fernando Girão/Miguel Braga and lyrics by Fernando Girão, stood out. As a curiosity, a lyric by Ana Zanatti appears on Track 5 – “Eu Quero Ter Eternamente Este Segredo”.
In 1996, the collection “Telepatia” was published in the Caravela collection.
After the year 2000
With no new records and almost completely away from the stages and public appearances, in 2000, she participated in two songs on the Pirilampo Mágico Campaign CD, in general and in the duet with Paulo de Carvalho (“Maybe in Somewhere”). She is invited by Paulo de Carvalho to a show in Abidjan (Ivory Coast).
In 2005, she is invited by the musician Miguel Braga to his work “Secreta Passagem”, in which she interprets the theme with the same name.
The 50 years of Simone de Oliveira’s career in 2008, provoke one of the few public appearances of Lara in recent times. Several artists take the stage at the Coliseu dos Recreios to pay homage to Simone de Oliveira in Num País Chamado Simone. Lara Li interprets the themes “Goodbye” and “Speak of the Alone Woman”.
In 2010, a new album by Lara Li reappears on the national scene, after almost a decade of absence.
Levemente is an album that reflects the complicity of the musical partnership of Miguel Braga and Lara Li. Between piano and voice, she recovers, in a mainly jazzy register, some well-known themes of light music and launches others, unpublished, but no less appealing. The title, very suggestive of the general tone of this album, is inspired by the opening song “Balada da Neve”, an adaptation of the famous poem by Augusto Gil.
In April 2013, she debuted as an actress in TEATRO RÁPIDO no Chiado, a 15-minute concept of Theater MicroEspetáculos. PÁPIS AZUL, was the name of the Micro-Piece by Tiago Torres da Silva, in which she played a veteran actress at death’s door and who refuses to leave the scene. Critic João Carneiro in “Expresso” highlighted the “revelation of Lara Li, a beautiful voice, an irreproachable elocution and, above all, a presence that, in itself, is an event”.
