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The story of opera in Israel and its history could have become the plot of one of the most fascinating operas ever. This is the story of pioneers who fought tirelessly to realize their artistic vision in a country that had not yet been founded. It is a story of struggle and love, of faith and despair, a story that ultimately, 93 years later, proudly places Israel on the international opera map.experience

This is a story that begins in 1917 in Moscow, where Mordechai Golinkin wrote down his plan to establish a Hebrew opera theater in the Land of Israel. Six years later Golinkin arrived in Palestine to fulfill his dream. The opera in the Land of Israel before the establishment of the state was born on July 28, 1923 with the performance of La Traviata by Verdi in Tel Aviv. At that time, there was no place for an opera in a city full of diseases, and the opera that Golinkin founded in Palestine had to perform in movie theaters that were not intended for this purpose. But the opera took its first steps towards establishing itself. Golinkin directed the Eretz Israel Opera for four years.

After him, the composer Mark LeBri and the conductor Georg Singer founded the Israel Folk Opera which operated between 1940-1946 and staged 16 productions, including the first Hebrew opera, Dan Hashomer , by Mark LeBri, the poet Sh. Hello and writer Max Broad.

 

A fundamental turning point occurred on November 13, 1945 when the American soprano Addis De Phillip landed in Israel and in a short time established the Israeli National Opera. And so, upon its founding, the new state had its own opera house. De Philippe's Opera House continued to put on operas every night all over the country. De Philippe even managed to attract young opera stars at the beginning of their careers to stay for a while in Israel and learn in their profession in Tel Aviv. A young Spanish tenor spent three years in Israel in the early 1960s. Here in Tel-Aviv he learned the best tenor roles before his name became famous all over the world. His name is Placido Domingo.

In 1982, the Israeli National Opera was closed by decision of the Ministry of Education and Culture. But artistic life in Israel could not be complete without opera. The Council for Culture and Art next to the Ministry of Education has committed to creating a new framework for opera activities in Israel. In 1985, with the signing of the agreement that the Israeli Chamber Orchestra would be the permanent orchestra of the opera, Uri Ofer was appointed as the general director of the opera and Yoav Ptolemy was appointed as its musical director. So, the opera became an independent entity, with the main source of funding being the municipality of Tel Aviv - Jaffa. The first production of the new Israeli opera was Dido and Aeneasby Purcell, staged at the Chamber Theater in Tel Aviv as a collaboration between the New Israel Opera, the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Theater. At the head of the organizational framework that was established for this production (and continued to function after that) were Uri Ofer, the director general of the chamber theater at the time and later the director general of the opera in the first decade of its existence, and Yoav Ptolemy, who was the musical director of the Israeli chamber orchestra and the new Israeli opera. This new framework was encouraged by the mayor and the spirit behind the enterprise, Shlomo Lahat and the chairman of the Council for Culture and Art, Avner Shalu. In 1986, Gary Bartheini was appointed the opera's artistic advisor, and with the end of Yoav Ptolemy's term as musical director of the opera (in 1988), Bartheini was appointed to the musical director of the New Israel Opera.After that Asher Fish and David Stern served as musical director, Daniel Oren and currently the musical director of the Israeli Opera is Dan Ettinger.

The Israeli Opera, founded in 1985, is today one of the pillars of Israeli culture - a vibrant international opera house, which emphasizes the dramatic and theatrical aspect of the art of opera and presents to an audience of subscribers the world's leading opera artists alongside many Israeli opera artists.

The Israeli Opera, under the leadership of CEO Tzach Granit, enjoys an audience that currently numbers approximately 18,000 subscribers and is steadily growing, and mounts an average of eight productions each season. Today, there is a regular collaboration between the Israeli Opera and leading opera houses around the world, and the Israeli Opera enjoys enthusiastic reviews in the world opera press. for her performances in Israel and abroad. All Israeli opera productions are sung in the original language, accompanied by translation subtitles in Hebrew and English, and are presented at the Opera House in the Mishkan for the Performing Arts in Tel Aviv, which opened in 1994. Starting in 2001, the Israeli Opera even presents dance performances, classical music, jazz and music series for children at the Opera House.

In October 2005, the Israel Opera removed the lot from the "Founders' Corner", a special wall in the portico of the Opera House dedicated to the commemoration of the pioneers of opera in Israel.

The Israeli Opera is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, as well as private individuals and commercial entities that contribute to the Opera.

From 2010, the Israeli opera began with the summer festivals in Masada where huge productions of the best operas are performed by hundreds of soloists from all over the world. In 2010 the opera Nabucco was staged , in 2011 Aida , in 2012 the opera Carmen , in 2014 La Traviata   and in 2015, two huge productions of Tosca by Puccini and Carmina Borna by Orff were staged. And with this, the Israeli Opera is proud to join the ranks of international opera festivals around the world that take place in the summer.

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