Rachel Reis (left), Rosa Passos (center) and Assucena perform at Teatro Castro Alves with the Bahia Symphony Orchestra Taylla de Paula / Disclosure ? FIRST PERSON OF SINGULAR ? SALVADOR (BA) – I was in the capital of Bahia last week to watch the recording of singer Lazzo Matumbi's first audiovisual album in a majestic show presented at Concha Acústica do Teatro Castro Alves on the night of Friday, July 24th. Once in Salvador (BA), I learned that, the day after Lazzo's performance, Saturday, July 25th, the Main Room of the Castro Alves Theater – finally reopened on July 1st after three years closed for restoration and modernization works following a fire that occurred in 2023 – would host the “Concerto do amor”, the last of the five shows performed by the Orquestra Sinfônica da Bahia (OSBA) with various guests, throughout the month of July, to celebrate the reopening of the most noble stage in Salvador (BA). And there I went to check out this symphony of love from the orchestra conducted by the communicative maestro Carlos Prazeres, whose image is far from the seriousness associated with masters of this craft. In addition to OSBA, three names attracted me to the theater that night. Three names of Bahian singers. Two, Rosa Passos and Assucena, I had already seen on stage a few times. But I had never seen Rachel Reis. And she was precisely the first singer to take the stage at Teatro Castro Alves in the concert orchestrated under the artistic direction of Elísio Lopes Jr. and musical direction by Manno Góes. From the first song, “Caju” (2023), composed by Rachel and originally recorded for the soundtrack of the series “Cangaço novo”, I saw that the singer has a good presence on stage. I liked the soft timbre of Sereiona's singing, the epithet by which Rachel Reis is known in Bahia. There is a serene swing in the artist's singing, who also released her voice in songs such as “Bateu” (Rachel Reis, Mulú, Francisco Gil, José Gil and João Gil, 2023) and “Xuxu” (Gilson Gomes, Ed Nobre, Diggo and Arthur Ramos, 2024) – recorded by Rachel with the groups Gilsons and Filhos de Jorge, respectively – with arrangements created by Alexandre Caldi for orchestra. “Maresia” (Rachel Reis, 2021) closed the artist’s block. Next, it was Assucena's turn, who performed just one solo number, performing “As songs that you did for me” (Roberto Carlos and Erasmo Carlos, 1966), a song released by Roberto Carlos 60 years ago, but today essentially known for the re-recording made by Maria Bethânia in 1993 for the album precisely titled “As songs that you did for me”. The arrangement of Assucena's number even seemed to intentionally evoke the arrangement of Bethânia's recording in the instrumental part because the song was really about her, Bethânia. Then came Rosa Passos, a sagacious singer and songwriter. I can't even say that I was surprised by the excellence of this artist's performance in the “Concerto do amor” because Rosa Passos is always an event on stage. A contemporary wonder applauded by Brazilians with the most tuned ears. Starting with “Dunas” (Rosa Passos and Fernando de Oliveira, 1993) – a samba that sounded like a declaration of love to Salvador (BA) due to its imagery lyrics that map the beauty of the city’s fauna and flora at the end of summer – in an orchestral arrangement by Itamar Assiere, Rosa Passos’ set included a “Dindi” (Antonio Carlos Jobim and Aloysio de Oliveira, 1959) in majestic tempo of delicacy, the bolero “Abajur lilás” (Rosa Passos and Ivan Lins, 1989, with later lyrics by Fernando de Oliveira, 1996) and two forays into the songbook of Djavan, a recurring composer in the singer's concert scripts. “Açaí” (1981) came in an energetic tone while “Samurai” (1982) won the audience’s chorus with the encouragement of Rosa herself. After Rosa Passos's block, Ruan Vitor, known as Vaqueirinho, entered the scene, a singer with a powerful voice that belies the ten years of this Bahian artist who went viral in 2024. Vaqueirinho won over the Castro Alves audience by performing songs such as “Que Deus me livre” (Giannini Alencar and André da Mata, 2023) and the arrocha “Locutor” (Silvano Salles, 2019) with charisma of grown-ups. After Vaqueirinho's participation ended, the three singers met on stage with OSBA to conclude the “Concerto do amor” with the samba “Chega de saudade” (Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, 1958). I left the theater happy, due to the reopening of the space and the good energy of the symphony of love with female voices that showed a little of what Bahia has. ? The g1 columnist and music critic traveled to Salvador (BA) at the invitation of the production of the show “Matumbi canta a Bahia”, by Lazzo Matumbi. Singer Ruan Vitor, known as Vaqueirinho, wins over the audience with his voice and charisma at OSBA's 'Love Concert' Taylla de Paula / Disclosure