From the day of its founding, the opera has set itself the goal of shaping itself as an Israeli opera. But how do you do this? What makes Israeli opera Israeli, or in other words, opera that is ours? The answer we found is to emphasize nurturing Israeli artists, Israeli soloists, and commissioning and performing Israeli works.
We work tirelessly on all of these, both through workshops and studios for young artists, through the promotion and nurturing of young opera artists who began their journey with us and have since broken through to the world, and through the performance of Israeli productions.
Many Israeli conductors, directors, designers, and opera singers work regularly with the Israeli Opera, and quite a few of them have begun, following their work with the Israeli Opera, to appear with important opera houses throughout the world. Conductors like Asher Fish, Dan Ettinger, Rani Calderon and Omar M. And to the bar. Directors like Omri Nitzan, designers like Boki Schiff, Roni Thorn, Felice Ross and many others work regularly in opera houses abroad and enjoy great success. And it would be too short to mention the names of all the Israeli opera singers who regularly appear with great success in opera houses around the world, such as Gabi Sade, Hadar Halevi, Sharon Rostorf-Zamir, Larisa Tatuyev, Anna Skibinsky and many more, who took their first steps in the Israeli opera and of course continue to appear on our opera stage regularly. Alongside them, dozens of Israeli singers and conductors appear on the Israeli opera stage in both leading and supporting roles, proving, most of all, that Israeli opera and the world of opera in the country have been blessed with first-rate artists.
In order to nurture the future generation of Israeli opera artists, the Israeli Opera established the Opera Studio, a program to nurture young Israeli opera singers. Since the studio’s establishment, many opera singers have participated in the program. All of these singers, including Ira Bartman, Svetlana Sendler, Hila Begio, Anastasia Kalavan and more, have appeared over the years in the various productions of the Israeli Opera, in both leading and supporting roles.
Since its founding, the Israeli Opera has performed a number of productions of Israeli operas specially commissioned by it. The opera stage at the Mishkan for the Performing Arts has featured Yosef by Yosef Tal and Israel Eliraz, Alpha and Omega by Gil Shohat to a libretto by Dori Manor and Anna Herman, and the production commissioned for the opera’s 20th anniversary, Journey to the End of the Millennium by Yosef Bardanashvili and A.B. Yehoshua. In addition, the Israeli Opera has staged The Journey to Polyphony by Richard Farber and The Beloved Son by Haim Fremont and Thelma Eligon, The Dreaming Child by Gil Shohat based on the play by Hanoch Levin, The Lady and the Peddler by Haim Fremont to a libretto by Tzuria Lahav based on the story by Shai Agnon, and Sheetz by Hanoch Levin in an operatic performance written by Yoni Rechter based on the libretto by Molly Meltzer. In the future, the Israeli Opera will continue to commission new operatic works from Israeli opera composers and stage these productions on the opera’s main stage and on additional stages throughout the country.
Photography: Maxim Dupli
