The last regular season production of the Israeli Opera was, rather surprisingly, not an opera at all, but rather a choral-cum-dance performance set to the magnificent music of Requiem in D Minor by the immortal Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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This unusual performance was the world debut of an original Israeli production, featuring local artists who appear regularly with the Israeli Opera: mezzo-soprano Anat Czarny, soprano Tal Ganor, tenor Eitan Drori and baritone Oded Reich. More often than not, these vocalists sang as an impressive quartet, whose renditions of Mozart’s timeless requiem were brilliant.
The four leads were backed up by the Israeli Opera Chorus and accompanied, as usual, by The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, which is the resident orchestra of the Israeli Opera, conducted this time by German maestro Karl-Heinz Steffans. The 10-member dance troupe was unnamed, nor was any choreographer recognized, although the creators were identified as Nadav Barnea and Shirit Lee Weiss.
The performance as a whole alternated between moments of outstanding stagecraft and rather boring, even repetitive, dance moves. In general, the magnificent lighting design (by the talented Barnea) stole the show from the choreography, as the moving strains of Mozart’s final composition filled the auditorium.
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The lights stole the show at Mozart's Requiem at the Israeli Opera
(Photo: Yossi Zwecker)
While the season officially ended last month, it is being extended to include two more individual performances of another original local production – that of the opera "Theodor," by Israeli composer Yonatan Cnaan. The opera, which focuses on two periods in the life of the founding father of the modern state of Israel, had a brief run in the spring of this year, and is returning to the Tel Aviv stage on November 30 and December 1.
Not only did this past year see two original works commissioned for (and performed by) the Israeli Opera, but the first production of the upcoming season will also continue in this mode: Hanoch Levin - The Opera, created by no fewer than five different Israeli composers. This opera, which aspires to bring to life characters created by arguably Israel’s greatest playwright, is currently scheduled for the briefest of runs – only four performances – so it would not be out of the question that reprise performances will yet find themselves on the 2024 calendar.
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Next season will see an opera about Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin
(Photo: Yakov Agor)
"Hanoch Levin - The Opera" will kick off a 2023-24 season comprising eight operas in total, including returning favorites by familiar Italian composers Verdi (with two entries), Puccini and Donizetti, as well as three rarely performed works by Poulenc, Dvorak and Gluck. It’s a good thing we had a double dose of Mozart this past season, since – for the first time in recent memory – we are headed into a season with not a single opera by the great Austrian composer.
Finally, I would be remiss not to mention that a wide variety of performances representing different genres – from rock to jazz, and from ethnic to shows for children – not to mention an entire season of dance featuring leading companies from around the world, are all listed on the Israeli Opera website, since they are slated to appear at the Tel Aviv opera house.