Oswaldo Montenegro established himself across composition, performance, and dramatic writing, releasing more than twenty-five solo albums while also creating numerous stage works. Among his most enduring songs stand “Bandolins,” “Agonia” (Mongol), “Aos Filhos dos Hippies,” “Leo e Bia,” “Estrelas,” “Lua e Flor,” “Intuição,” “O Chato,” “Vida de Artista,” and “Celeiro.” His composition “Automóvel” earned classification at the final edition of TV Globo’s Festival Internacional da Canção in 1972. Two years afterward he completed his debut musical, João Sem Nome, written with Mongol and premiered in 1975 in Brasília DF. That same year Som Livre signed him, issuing the single Sem Mandamentos. In 1976 he joined Marlui Miranda and Vital Lima for the inaugural Seis e Meia presentation in Rio de Janeiro. The following year he issued his first solo album, the independent release Trilhas. The 1979 Festival of TV Tupi awarded third place to “Bandolins,” which became one of his signature successes. In 1980 “Agonia” (Mongol) secured first place at TV Globo’s MPB-80 Festival, while his third album, Oswaldo Montenegro on WEA, achieved gold status. The 1982 Brasília DF production Veja Você, Brasília introduced then-emerging performers Cássia Eller and Zélia Duncan. His initial major theatrical success arrived with A Dança dos Signos, staged for three consecutive years and accumulating a decade of performances overall. He both wrote and directed the 1984 play Léo e Bia. That year he also composed the score and supervised music for the Marília Pera monologue Brincando em Cima Daquilo and supplied the soundtrack for Casal Aberto, Ma Non Troppo. The 1987 production A Aldeia dos Ventos featured early appearances by Déborah Blando, Milton Guedes, Vanessa Barum, and Adriana Maciel; its soundtrack album enlisted Ney Matogrosso, Gonzaguinha, Sivuca, Zizi Possi, Glória Pires, and Lucinha Lins. His strongest commercial seller, Ao Vivo on Som Livre, appeared in 1989. The 1990 Som Livre album Oswaldo Montenegro placed “Travessuras” in the TV Globo telenovela Gente Fina. Vida de Artista, released in 1991, likewise performed well, its accompanying show running more than two hundred times. Montenegro’s first concerts outside Brazil took place in 1994 in Boston, New Jersey, Mount Vernon, Connecticut, and Miami. In Carnival 2000 the samba school Mocidade Independente do Gama adopted one of his compositions as its theme song.
