Biography
Antônio Nóbrega, honored across the fields of music, acting, playwriting, and dance, has secured global recognition for his refined artistry anchored in Brazilian folk traditions. He initiated formal musical training at the Escola de Belas Artes de Recife.
In the late 1960s he performed with the Orquestra de Câmara da Paraíba and the Orquestra Sinfônica de Recife while delivering recitals in his native city. During the 1970s folklorist and author Ariano Suassuna recruited him into Quinteto Armorial to serve as instrumentalist and composer for the ensemble widely viewed as the foremost proponent of Brazilian classical composition grounded in popular sources.
Throughout those years Nóbrega toured internationally and cut four albums with the Quinteto on the Marcus Pereira label. Because the group maintained a pronounced commitment to regional folklore, its members sustained thorough fieldwork and sustained exchanges with vernacular musicians, fellow creators, and dancers. Nóbrega further studied violin under Catalan instructor Luis Soler and voice under lyrical singer Arlinda Rocha.
In 1976 he first articulated his personal vision of scenic arts, movement, and music through the Recife production A Bandeira Do Divino, which he both directed and performed. A Arte Da Cantoria followed, opening in 1982 at São Paulo’s I International Theater Festival.
Choosing independence as a creator, he settled in São Paulo and founded Maracatu Misterioso. In that city he trained in mime and, with Klaus Viana, in circus disciplines. In Campinas he helped launch UNICAMP’s Department for Corporal Arts and taught Brazilian dance there for five years.
Thereafter Nóbrega also embraced theater, directing and appearing in Mateus Presepeiro. For the III Carlton Dance Festival in 1989 he devised the solo work O Reino Do Meio Dia, which received an APCA award from the São Paulo Association of Art Critics.
Working with Bráulio Tavares he next wrote Brincante and Segundas Histórias. Together with his wife Rosane Nóbrega he has presented numerous stage musicals in Brazil and several abroad, among them Na Pancada Do Ganzá, honored by APCA in 1996, Figural, Sol A Pino, Penambuco Falando Para O Mundo, and Madeira Que Cupim Não Rói.
He earned the Prêmio Shell in 1994 for his artistic contributions. Two years later the same category brought him the Troféu Mambembe; he also received the Prêmio Sharp for “Na Pancada Do Ganzá” as best regional song. In addition he was named among the recipients of the first Prêmio Multicultural Estadão in 1997.
More recently he established the Centro Brasileiro de Estudos e Folganças, an institution devoted to continued investigation and performance of Brazilian culture.
In the late 1960s he performed with the Orquestra de Câmara da Paraíba and the Orquestra Sinfônica de Recife while delivering recitals in his native city. During the 1970s folklorist and author Ariano Suassuna recruited him into Quinteto Armorial to serve as instrumentalist and composer for the ensemble widely viewed as the foremost proponent of Brazilian classical composition grounded in popular sources.
Throughout those years Nóbrega toured internationally and cut four albums with the Quinteto on the Marcus Pereira label. Because the group maintained a pronounced commitment to regional folklore, its members sustained thorough fieldwork and sustained exchanges with vernacular musicians, fellow creators, and dancers. Nóbrega further studied violin under Catalan instructor Luis Soler and voice under lyrical singer Arlinda Rocha.
In 1976 he first articulated his personal vision of scenic arts, movement, and music through the Recife production A Bandeira Do Divino, which he both directed and performed. A Arte Da Cantoria followed, opening in 1982 at São Paulo’s I International Theater Festival.
Choosing independence as a creator, he settled in São Paulo and founded Maracatu Misterioso. In that city he trained in mime and, with Klaus Viana, in circus disciplines. In Campinas he helped launch UNICAMP’s Department for Corporal Arts and taught Brazilian dance there for five years.
Thereafter Nóbrega also embraced theater, directing and appearing in Mateus Presepeiro. For the III Carlton Dance Festival in 1989 he devised the solo work O Reino Do Meio Dia, which received an APCA award from the São Paulo Association of Art Critics.
Working with Bráulio Tavares he next wrote Brincante and Segundas Histórias. Together with his wife Rosane Nóbrega he has presented numerous stage musicals in Brazil and several abroad, among them Na Pancada Do Ganzá, honored by APCA in 1996, Figural, Sol A Pino, Penambuco Falando Para O Mundo, and Madeira Que Cupim Não Rói.
He earned the Prêmio Shell in 1994 for his artistic contributions. Two years later the same category brought him the Troféu Mambembe; he also received the Prêmio Sharp for “Na Pancada Do Ganzá” as best regional song. In addition he was named among the recipients of the first Prêmio Multicultural Estadão in 1997.
More recently he established the Centro Brasileiro de Estudos e Folganças, an institution devoted to continued investigation and performance of Brazilian culture.
Albums
Nove de Frevereiro, Vol. 1
2017
Nove de Frevereiro, Vol. 2
2007
Lunário Perpétuo
2003
O Marco do Meio-Dia
2003
Na Pancada do Ganzá
2002
Pernambuco Falando para o Mundo
1999
Madeira Que Cupim Não Roi
1999
Singles
