Ricardo Alexandre Paulo Ribeiro was born on August 19, 1981, in Lisbon. He was raised in Bairro da Ajuda, having started singing at the age of 9 for his friends.
Driven by an aunt, his debut took place at the age of 12, in the Grupo Desportivo “A Académica da Ajuda”, being accompanied on guitar by Carlos Gonçalves and on viola José Inácio, who would become one of his teachers.
He participated in the 1996 Grande Noite do Fado, in Lisbon, taking 2nd place. He wins this Casa da Imprensa initiative the following year and in 1998 he wins again, now in the senior men’s category.
At the same time as he studies at Colégio Diocesano Andrade Corvo, in Torres Novas, at the age of 15, he joins the cast of the Typical Restaurant “Os Ferreiras”, in the parish of Pena, alongside names like Fernando Maurício (who he considers his master) and Adelino dos Santos, guitarist from whom he says he received many lessons.
He later moved to Bairro Alto, performing at the Typical Restaurant “Nô-Nô”, O Faia or Café Luso. He is part of the cast of Casa de Fado Marquês da Sé and on Saturdays he sings at Mesa de Frades, both in Alfama.
In 2001 he represented Portugal, at the invitation of the French Ministry of Culture, in a festival of cultures held in the house donated by actress Maria Casarès in the town of Alloue, Charente, France.
In 2004 he participated with the theme “Rosas e Harpejo” in the compilation Fado, a Canção de Lisboa: Para uma História do Fado published in September and included in the collection O Fado do Público.
On October 6th, A Tribute To Amália Rodrigues will be released, a tribute compilation to the Portuguese fado singer, published by World Connection. Credited only as “Ricardo”, he introduces the chosen theme “When You Like Someone”, in this release in which fado names such as Ana Moura, Argentina Santos, Cristina Branco or Joana Amendoeira also participate, but also from other areas such as Vozes da Rádio, Dany Silva or Raul Marques and the Salsa Friends.
The album Ricardo Ribeiro was released in 2004 by the publisher Companhia Nacional de Música. This work is marked by traditional fado compositions but with four exceptions brought by Jorge Fernando, Paco González and Manuel Mendes. It is also worth noting the lyrics written for him by José Luís Gordo and Rui Manuel. In the production are the signatures of Jorge Fernando and Ricardo Ribeiro who is accompanied on this album by Jorge Fernando (viola), José Manuel Neto (Portuguese guitar) and Marino de Freitas (bass guitar). From this work, the song “A Lua e o Corpo” would be chosen to be part of the compilation Álbum Vermelho do Fado (2006), published by CNM, and the compilation Fado Semper! Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow commemorates 150 years of fado, published by Difference and iPlay and which brings together 80 fados performed by “unmissable names in the fado scene”.
Note also for the theme “Rezando Pedi por Ti” which would be included in the compilation Fado Presente: A Nova Geração do Fado (2008) with the approval of Farol Música.
In 2005 Ricardo Ribeiro received the Amália Prize, Fadista Revelation category, from the Amália Rodrigues Foundation. In the women’s section, the winner would be Carminho. During the 2005 Grande Noite do Fado, Casa da Imprensa awarded him the Revelation Trophy.
Stepping into other arts, still in 2005, he participated in the film “Rio Turvo” (2007) by Edgar Pêra where he performed a fado and a song by Fernando Girão. In the theater, he sings in the play “Cabelo Branco É Saudade”, by director Ricardo Pais, alongside Celeste Rodrigues, Argentina Santos and Alcindo de Carvalho, at the Teatro Nacional de São João. The show would take place in other important theaters such as Cité de la musique in Paris, the Teatro de La Abadía in Madrid, the Frankfurt Opera House (Opern und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt), the Teatro Mercadante in Náples or the Casa da Música, in Porto.
Still in 2006, he performed a fado version of the National Anthem of Portugal, in support of the national football team, participating in that year’s Football World Cup, held in Germany.
The following year Ricardo Ribeiro appears in the musical documentary film “Fados” (2007), by Carlos Saura. Ricardo Ribeiro participates in a final scene, where he tries to “recreate Tasca do Chico”, in Bairro Alto, singing alongside Ana Sofia Varela, Carminho, Maria da Nazaré, Vicente da Câmara and Pedro Moutinho. This scene would serve as the basis for a show, Casa de Fados, with these artists (except Carminho who would be replaced by Tânia Oleiro), premiered in November, at the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), in Lisbon.
Following the concerts in July 2007, at the Teatro de São Luiz, in Lisbon and in Porto, at the Teatro Nacional São João with the Lebanese lutenist and composer Rabih Abou-Khalil, Ricardo is the voice of the album in Portuguese by the composer and player. Oud, released in May 2008 by Enja Records. The original lyrics are signed by Mário Rainho, Silva Tavares, José Luís Gordo, Tiago Torres da Silva, Rui Manuel and António Rocha. The album was voted Top of the World Album by the English magazine Songlines.
In 2009, Ricardo Ribeiro participated in the album Em Cantado de Rão Kyao, singing two songs “O Meu Amor” and “Fado do Alentejo”.
In 2010, the album “Porta do Coração” was released, with the EMI Music Portugal label, produced by Ricardo Ribeiro and the two musicians who accompanied him at the time, Pedro Castro (Portuguese guitar) and Jaime Santos (viola). The album also featured José Luís Nobre Costa (Portuguese guitar) and, at 90 years old, Joel Pina (bass guitar). Dominated once again by traditional fados, among the 15 themes presented, with poems by authors such as Maria de Lourdes Carvalho, Saudade dos Santos, Álvaro Duarte Simões, Carlos Conde or Jorge Rosa, there is a theme, by Fernando Girão, that does not if it can be fate. The album, released on April 19, had as its introductory single “Moreninha da Travessa”, with the music video directed by filmmaker João Botelho. The album was placed directly in fifth place in the national sales chart, according to the Portuguese Phonographic Association (AFP).
The film “Filme do Desassossego” (2010), by João Botelho, premieres in September, which includes a musical appearance by Ricardo Ribeiro. In 2011 Ricardo Ribeiro received the “Best Interpreter Award” awarded by the Amália Rodrigues Foundation.
The documentary “O Rei Sem Coroa” (2011), by Diogo Varela Silva, about the life and work of Fernando Maurício, which includes the participation of Ricardo Ribeiro, premieres in June. In 2012 Ricardo Ribeiro collaborates on the album Rui Veloso E Amigos, in a duet on “Não Me Esqueci De Ti” with Rui Veloso.
In 2013, the album Largo da Memória arrived with the presentation theme “Destino Marcado”. Published on October 14th, this work features the participation of Lebanese musician Rabih Abou-Khalil and guitarists Joel Pina, Ricardo Rocha, Pedro Caldeira Cabral and Pedro Jóia. Among the signatures of the poems we find names such as Pedro Homem de Melo, David Mourão-Ferreira, Maria do Rosário Pedreira or Hasan Ibn Al-Missîsi. With this album released by Parlaphone, Ricardo Ribeiro was one of the four finalists in the “Best Artist” category of the 2015 edition of the British magazine Songlines’ music awards. In the compilation that marks these awards, Songlines Music Awards 2015 (2015), we can find the theme “Entrega”.
Still in 2013, he collaborated in a duet on the song “Pontas Soltas” from the album “Fado É Amor” by Carlos do Carmo. On January 27, 2015, Ricardo Ribeiro was made Commander of the Order of Infante D. Henrique.
In July 2015, the compilation Amália – As Vozes do Fado was released, a tribute to Amália Rodrigues created by Portuguese-French director Ruben Alves, in which Ricardo Ribeiro sings in “Grito” and “Maria La Portuguesa”, in which the Spanish also participates Javier Limón.
The album Hoje é Assim, Ajante Não Sei is released on April 1, 2016. This work, which was presented the night before at the fado singer’s debut, in his own name, at Lisbon’s Coliseu dos Recreios, is accompanied by José Manuel Neto (Portuguese guitar), Carlos Manuel Proença (viola) and Daniel Pinto (bass guitar), and also with guests such as pianist João Paulo Esteves da Silva, accordionist Ricardo Dias, trumpeter Diogo Duque or classical guitarists Artur Caldeira and Daniel Paredes . Among the surprises of this album we can find, alongside traditional fado themes, a lyric by Bernardim Ribeiro (1482-1552), a theme in French by Paul Verlaine or another in Castilian by Luís Demétrio. Note also the participation of Grupo Coral Ganhões de Castro Verde in a theme signed by Paulo de Carvalho. The presentation single features “Nos Dias de Hoje”, with lyrics and music by Tozé Brito.
“Hoje é Assim, Amanhã Não Sei”, produced by Carlos Manuel Proença, would once again place Ricardo Ribeiro in the nominations, in the category of “Best Artist”, for the musical awards of the British magazine Songlines in 2017 and deserve to be awarded the Carlos Prize Paredes (2017), from Vila Franca de Xira City Council, ex aequo with the Michel Giacometti Project of the ARTEMSAX & Lino Guerreiro Quartet.
