Back from the Cristina Branco shows: her song list follows faithfully her latest
Live album (which is very good indeed -- full of fado perennials with a few South American imports, and the best thing is that it never gets jazzy and sappy). She is in good form during the shows: many of the audience found her compelling (after the show, the stall was relieved of all her CDs in five minutes); I think she emoted too hard, and subtle nuances were leveled off in favor of highly-charged delivery.
Branco was not a chatty kind, and with the exception of a few songs written during the Portugese Revolution, would rather sing the songs than explaining them. In an interview I read, she seems firm in her belief that language is no problem in appreciating her music (which is true); but I always think that some background information will enhance my enjoyment immensely.