“I cut off the figures who harassed me”

— I was a very confused young woman. Every note I sang that was different from what I had imagined, I found myself kneeling in the corn, whipping my back. It was very critical, he said.

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The current moment, as he demonstrates, is one of greater relaxation and greater self-confidence.

— I found myself more sensual too. It’s about freeing myself from the male figures in charge of my work. It bothered me a lot – he said. — I cut off the figures who were harassing me. There’s been a lot of “let’s have dinner and talk about the record deal” conversation, which I already find abusive. For me to talk about the contract with my manager, we have coffee or a Zoom call. You don’t need to cook dinner, just drink wine. I feel like I got rid of everyone who thought they invented me. I have no doubt that I invented myself. And I continue to invent myself.

Today’s invention is the album “Tudo que cantei sou”, his 12th, the basis of which is an audiovisual available on YouTube. It was recorded at the Casa de Francisca, in São Paulo, but without an audience. Roberta is accompanied only by Alaan Monteiro’s mandolin and Gabriel de Aquino’s guitar. A very different format from that of his last work, “Sambasá” (still performed throughout the country), which requires a group of at least five musicians and has a repertoire made for dancing. The new project was born at the invitation of the Terças no Ipanema series, at the Teatro Ipanema, in Rio.

— Silly girl, I wanted to rest. I said to myself: I’m going to do a light show, easy to do, and rest to make the new album – he explains, recognizing that “the rest was for the beleléu”. — It’s a relationship with a calmer audience, in small rooms. I rediscovered a singer I hadn’t met for a long time, singing from the inside.

The audiovisual was produced in a single evening, with a maximum of two takes for each of the 14 songs. Roberta points out that there have been no audio modifications. Everything is as it was sung.

— I liked the new things, compared to everything — he said. — When I see a very retouched and perfect photo, I don’t like it. Feeling less edited, in a situation with less control, is a great tool for self-awareness, even when the camera comes in front of you and shows the wrinkle you didn’t see. It’s your story. For me, it’s therapeutic.

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Unlike what will happen with the next album, which is only new (including hers), “Tudo que cantei sou” brings together songs that Roberta had already recorded and three new songs in her voice, but published by other performers: “Virada” (Manu da Cuíca and Marina Íris), “Juras” (Fernando de Oliveira and Rosa Passos) and “Essa confusion” (Dora Morelenbaum and Zé Ibarra).

Among the others, there are copies of virtually all of his works. From “Braseiro”, the first to appear is “Eu sambo even” (Janet de Almeida).

— I like to say this phrase and see that after 20 years it continues to have meaning — she says, who does not consider herself a samba singer, preferring to have the freedom to sing whatever she wants. — And I like singing these sambas from the 40s. I sang a lot at the beginning of my career, at the Clube dos Demáculos, in Lapa.

“Prefabricated house” (Marcelo Camelo) entered through nostalgia, according to what he claims. From “Braseiro” there is also “Olho de boi” (Rodrigo Maranhão) and “Lavoura” (Pedro Amorim and Teresa Cristina).

— I was the first person to record Teresa. His generation explored Lapa, I arrived a little later, appreciating what had been done. She’s a wonderful composer – she exalts.

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The repertoire also includes, among others, three by Roque Ferreira (“Água doce”, “Marejada” and “Cocada”), a Bahian composer celebrated on the album “Quando o canto é reza”, produced in 2019 with the Trio Madeira Brasil. And two (“O foulard et drap” and “Fogo de paille”) from the album “Giro”, recorded with Gilberto Gil in 2019.

Roberta reaches 45 and lives better, she says, than in the previous decade.

— I got divorced, I left the manager I had, it was a decade of reconstruction, I suffered a lot from all that, but I recovered very well. I found a group that takes life and music very lightly. My 45 comes with this lightness. On the other hand, there are mammograms, biopsies of I don’t know what, exams of I don’t know what, I will soon go through menopause. It’s a boring part — she says, a resident of Posto 6, assuring that she is “ready to become an old lady of Copacabana”. — It’s good to celebrate your career, because 20 years have passed and here I am, I survived everything I thought would go wrong and it didn’t happen. I have ups and downs, but I am satisfied, I manage my frustrations well.