Amalia Rodrigues was the greatest star of Portuguese music and the "Queen of Fado," a style of music that Rodrigues described as an expression of "a lament that is eternal." Blending traditional Spanish melodies with the influences of Arab and Gypsy melodies, Fado was the leading musical style in Portugal, and Rodrigues at once typified Fado and took it to places no other singer had before or since, performing in Europe and America and becoming Portugal's most beloved entertainer before her death in 1999. The Art of Amalia is a 90-minute documentary that follows Rodrigues' life and times from her rise to stardom in the 1940s to her retirement from performing in 1995; it includes a number of interviews with the reclusive star, as well as performance footage spanning the full extent of her career. The Art of Amalia was directed by Bruno de Almeida, who previously helmed Amalia: Uma Estranha Forma De Vida, a five-hour documentary series for Portuguese television on the vocalist's life and times, as well as a concert film of her appearance in New York City in 1990.