Collaborations with the Most Esteemed Artists, and Great Success Abroad

The Whole World is a Stage

In 1990, the second decade of her career, Rita was the star of the Israeli production of “The Taming of the Shrew,” a comedy by William Shakespeare. In the same year she was chosen to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Yugoslavia with the song “Shara Ba-Rehovot (Singing in the streets).”

Rita says humorously: “Although the song was not rated highly, and that’s an understatement, at least I got an amazing song out of it. There isn’t a concert when I don’t sing this song.” The song became one of her most popular and beloved songs.

In 1990, she also performed at the Festigal, a major annual event for children’s music in Israel, with the song “Kova Ksamim (Magic Hat)” by the poet Leah Goldberg, and later in the Festigal performed with the music band ‘Ethnix’ and guitarist Baldi Olier, with the song “Agadat Ha-Shemesh Ve-Ha-Yareach (The Legend of the Sun and Moon).”

In 1991, she collaborated with Dudu Fisher and Shlomo Bar-Aba in the musical performance “The Tonight Musical,” with a group of singers, actors and dancers. The show included songs from the musical “Kol Nidre” composed by the international composer Lalo Schifrin, as well as a selection of songs from famous plays including “Funny Girl,” “The West Side Story” and more.

A Tin Roof, Roxanne and Mother

In February 1992 Rita’s eldest daughter, Meshi, was born. That year she participated in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” a play by Tennessee Williams at ‘Habima,’ the Israeli National Theater in Tel Aviv. Rita played the lead role of Maggie. The same year, Rita also won the IBA Singer of the Year award.

In 1993, the cover version of “Roxanne” – released few years earlier in the album “Breaking Those Walls” – was re-released as a single in France and Belgium. The single topped the charts and sold over 140,000 copies.

(צילום מתתוך MTV

Great Love – All the Way to MTV

In 1994, Rita’s third album, “Ahava Gdola (Great Love)” was produced by Louis Lahav. The album included many hits and was a great commercial success in Israel.

The song “Tzipor Zara (A Foreign Bird)” was accompanied by an inspiring video directed by Yariv Gever, at the time holding the record for the most invested clip produced in Israel. The video even won the ‘Best foreign Video Clip of 1994’ award on MTV.

The tour, which followed the album and carried the same name, ran with unprecedented success for four whole years, totaling about 400 concerts. The stage act earned the title of Spectacle, thanks to the spectacular lighting, dancers, change of costumes and even the first use of the wireless mouth piece microphone nicknamed ‘Madonna’ in Israel.

Live performances from the concerts were recorded and would be published later as part of the album “Tachanot Bazman (Stations in Time).” The show was also filmed and released on DVD.

Israeli Pocahontas

At the end of 1994, the song “Al Tefached (Do not Fear)” was released from the film “The Song of the Siren,” which became a hit in its own right.

Later, in 1995, Rita was dubbing and singing for the Hebrew version of the animated film “Pocahontas” by Disney. She said, “I thought it would be a beautiful gift for Meshi, who was then three years old.”

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(“I live from day by day” in a concert)

אולי להוסיף את פוקהונטס

Subtotal

During the “Great Love” tour, in 1996, the album “Tachanot Bazman (Stations in Time)” was released, which was an interim summary album marking a decade of Rita’s career. The album included songs that hadn’t featured in the previous albums along with new songs, including the song “Ad SheTa’azov (Until You Leave)” by Rita and Rami Kleinstein. In addition to these songs, the album also included live performances from the show “Great Love”, including the iconic and moving version of the song “Ani Chaya Li Mi-Yom Le-Yom (I Live from Day to Day),” which, unlike the rhythmic version released on the album “Days of Innocence,” was presented as a powerful ballad.

That same year, Rita recorded the duet “Shnayim (Two)” with Shlomo Artzi.
On the 50^th anniversary of the State of Israel, Rita sang the national anthem at the national show “Bells of the Jubilee” in Jerusalem.

 Open a Window

In late 1999, Rita’s fourth studio album, “Tiftach Chalon (Open a Window)” was released.
The album was produced by the international producer Louis Lahav. This is a double album, in which many artists, including Rami Kleinstein, Shlomo Artzi, Yair Lapid (later a member of the Israeli Parliament) and many more participated.

The lyrics of the theme song, “Open a Window” were written by Rita. The song won the Best Vocal Performance category. “Open a Window” is considered to be the highest-invested album to be produced in Israel and was one of the bestseller albums of all time in the country. In addition, the video that accompanied the song won the best video award.

The tour that accompanied the album was a big success and ran for about a year, until the birth of Rita’s second daughter, Noam. In addition, the album won the award for the best stage act of the year.

Parallel to the release of the album, Channel 2, a leading Israeli channel produced a documentary film about Rita’s life called “Hodadad.”

New Millennium – New Records

 Live, Orchestra and a New Baby

In the year 2000, at the peak of the success of “Open a Window,” Rita was recording another album in English named “Time for Peace.” The album was produced by Corrado Rustici, an Italian musical producer who worked with Whitney Houston, Elton John, Cuccaro and many more.

In the summer of 2001, the musical power couple Rita and Rami Kleinstein reunited and embarked on a tour, “The Joint Show,” which was documented in a double album that was a huge commercial success.

That year, Rita lead the show “Concerto for Rita and Orchestra” – a joint performance with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Asher Fisch. On the stage, Rita exposed for the first time her full vocal abilities, which were honed by years of classical musical education. The show included classical music by Puccini, Bizet and Gershwin, alongside Philharmonic adaptations for well known hits.

That same year, Rita also hosted Yossi Banai’s album “Le’at (Slowly),” in a duet called “A Painting of Love,” which he composed based on Chopin’s Prelude in E minor.

(A picture from the Concerto of Rita & Orchestra)

Oxygen – First Artistic Experiences in the Third Decade of her Career

In 2002 the concert “Rita and the Piano” was performed at the Israeli Piano Festival. It was Rita’s first experience at an intimate show, closer to the audience with a small and minimal band; before this  she had performed only in large halls and big venues.

In March 2003, Rita’s sixth album, “Chamtzan (Oxygen)” was released. The song “Le’alef Namer (To Train a Tiger)” preceded it as a single in an electronic production that surprised many. Also in the album is the song “Ata Adain (You Are Still),“ by Meir Ariel, who won new success in Dudu Tassa’s cover version about a year later, in which Rita sang background vocals.

The album included thirteen songs, two of which Rita wrote – “Teshaker Li (Lie to Me)” and “Yom Hadash (New Day).” The rest of the songs were written by various artists, such as Shlomo Artzi, Yair Lapid, Aviv Gefen and others.

Following “Oxygen,” Rita went on a tour under the name “Rita LIVE.” In that same year, she also recorded the new version of Esther Ofarim’s “Cinderella Rockefella” with Ivri Lider – an international hit from the soundtrack of Eitan Fox’s international award winning movie “Walk on Water.”

(Youtube – Cinderella Rockefella)

One – A Once in a Lifetime Show

The middle of the first decade of the 2000s symbolizes the conquest of the most amazing stages in Israel.

In 2004, for the first time in Israel, the Israeli version of the musical ‘Chicago’, one of Broadway’s biggest hits, was performed at “Beit Lessin” Theater. Rita played the role of Roxie Hart and was praised for her acting. The musical was a great success.

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(“Slave of Time” from One)

In July 2006 Rita launched the performance “One” directed by Hanoch Rosen. The musical production was led by Rami Kleinstein and other well-known producers, such as Eyal Katzav, Henry Philoni, Astral Projection and others, contributed to the musical diversity.

The show was the realization of a vision, a once in a lifetime performance on an international scale. The production cost over 20 million NIS and was a breakthrough in Israel, presenting a rare combination of experiential, visual and musical media, advanced stage systems and a team of about sixty dancers and acrobats. It was the first show ever produced in Israel on that scale.

The show ran thirty times in the “Tel Aviv Convention Center,” day after day. During the same month about 80,000 people watched “One.” A DVD and a CD of the show was released as it ended its stage run.

Hints of a Refreshing New Era

After the series of performances of One, the recording of Rita’s seventh studio album “Remazim (Hints)” began, together with the creator and producer Ivri Lider. The album was recorded in Lider’s private studio and had an intimate and personal nature with Rita herself responsible for writing some of the lyrics.

“Hints” was released in January 2008 and immediately caught the attention of the audience, thanks to a sound that had not been heard before from Rita. Music critics defined the album as a major milestone in Rita’s career.

At the same time, Rita embarked on a tour called “Hints.” The tour received great demand and favorable reviews. It was noted that the tour was a surprising and moving performance, especially in relation to everything that Rita had done until then. It was a down to earth, close to the audience and intimate performance.

On Israeli Independence Day 2008, Israel’s 60^th anniversary, Rita won the title of Israel’s All-Time Singer in a poll conducted by Keshet Broadcasting, one of Israel leading media channels.

At the end of that year, Rita was chosen as the “Singer of the Year” by four different radio stations. In addition, “Hints” became the best-selling album in Israel in 2008, and Rita was marked as the most widely played artist on the radio in Israel in 2007/8.

The Singer of All Time Starts a New Journey Around the World

Enough Pain

In 2009, during the first Tel Aviv Musical Festival, a joint performance with the “Knesiyat Hasekhel” ensemble was launched. The surprising cooperation was praised by many.

As part of the show the song “Dai La-Ke’ev (Enough Pain)” was released, an original text for a Persian melody brought by Rita from her parents’ home. The song was played on all Israeli radio stations and became a big hit. The unexpected collaboration laid the foundation for one of the most significant twists in Rita’s career – the album “HaSmachot Shely (My Joys),” which would be produced later by the ensemble members Ami Rice and Ran Elimaliach.

In that same year Rita performed in the Festigal, a decade after the first time, as a guest artist performing her best hits of all times.

Shiraz Returns Home

In 2010 Rita participated in the film, “Ben Returns Home” by the young and promising director Elad Zakai. The film was accompanied by children’s classic “Boi Ima (Come, Mom),” performed by Rita. The film has been screened at film festivals around the world, and Rita was praised for her acting and won the Best Actress Award at the San Francisco Film Festival.

That same year Rita’s children’s book, “The heart of Shiraz” (illustrations by Wally Minzi) was published, based on a children’s fairy tale from her mother’s home. The book, which draws much inspiration from the Persian folklore, quickly entered the bestseller charts. The book was published in the United States, England and Japan and appeared as a children’s play at the Orna Porat Theater in Israel.

In addition, Rita went on stage with the show, “Closer than Ever,” a series of performances at the Zappa Club in Tel Aviv.

(A picture from the film, “Ben Returns Home”)

Worldwide Music

In 2010 Rita appeared at the World Expo held in Shanghai, China. Her performances were very successful and attracted many visitors. The show concluded the activities at the Israeli Pavilion every day and was a highlight event. Rita was also invited to perform at the International Jazz Festival in Istanbul alongside Glykeria (Greece), Aynur (Turkey) and Booyaka (Spain). The performance took place under the title “Women of Water” and was produced by the Latin Grammy winner Javier Limon.

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My Joys

In 2010, the work on her Persian album “My Joys” was also completed. Rita returned to the joyful songs she grew up on, performed them in her mother tongue and even included family members in recordings. With the release of the song “Shane” on the radio, Rita participated in a special TV show named “A Star is Born” (Israeli Idol) where she performed the song for the first time in a live performance. The TV show participants also performed Rita’s songs under her guidance. Also on the radio were “Sha Doomad” and “Gole Sangam”. The album received great international interest, especially in Iran – both in the country itself and among Iranians living around the world. The album won this interest and success despite being in the Persian language.

Read more about “My Joys” >>>
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Ambassador of Goodwill

In March 2013, one of the most significant achievements in Rita’s career took place. She gave a full performance at the UN headquarters in New York, in the general assembly hall, headed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a crowd over 120 representatives – including representatives from countries hostile to Israel. The concert was a goodwill gesture from the Israeli delegation led by Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor. At the same concert, Rita sang in three languages – Persian, Hebrew and English. Rita was the first artist ever to give a full performance at the UN.

That same month, Rita appeared at the state dinner given by the then President of Israel, Shimon Peres during US President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel with the song, “Jerusalem of Gold.” At the end of that yea, she was also invited to the British House of Lords, where she lectured at the “Women in Music” event on women’s empowerment.

In the wake of these international events, in which Rita represented Israel and promoted the bringing together of people through music, she was crowned by the world press as an ambassador of cultural goodwill.

An Inspiring Lecturer

In the summer of 2014, after operation “Protective edge (Tzuk Eitan),” a wave of anti-Semitism was felt over the world.

The Hillel Organization, a Jewish student organization active throughout the United States, conducted a survey and declared Rita as the most influential Israeli public cultural figure among students. Rita was described as an “inspiring artist.” She is currently traveling to campuses around the world to lecture about her life story and “the understanding, in my personal experience, of how art and music can connect people without boundaries.”

In 2014, on the 20^th anniversary of her legendary tour “Great Love,” the “20 Years of Great Love” tour, which includes its biggest hits took off and ran for three years throughout the country. This tour, too, was very successful.

Rita – the Greatest of Them all

In the summer of 2015, Rita returned to star in only twenty performances of the musical “My Fair Lady” at the Habimah National Theater in Tel Aviv. She filled the same iconic main role and was widely praised for her acting, which astonished even the critics at the time. In that same year, she released a 24-song double collection album, including hits that had accompanied her in the last three decades.

At the end of 2016, a viral status on Facebook spawned a surprising collaboration. Yehoash Schwartz, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, wrote the song, “Al Tire’e (Do not Look)” in memory of his late wife. He told his granddaughter that his dream is that Rita, “the greatest of them all,” would sing his song. Rita was moved by the sensitive words and the song was recorded set to the music of Dudi Bar David.

In 2017 Rita sang the song, “Jerusalem of Gold” at the 69^th anniversary of the State of Israel and won the title Singer of All Time by Mako, a website operated by Keshet Broadcasting and the well-known radio station 103 FM.

This year at the TEDx International Conference held in Tel Aviv, Rita shared an emotional talk about her life story and even sang a lullaby in Persian with her mother. In her talk entitled “The Greatness of Weakness,” Rita shared with the public her insights on life:

“I used to think that I was cursed in all possible ways: I was Jewish, Iranian, Israeli, a woman, did not easy childhood … Today I understand that all this was so that I could turn all these shortcomings into my source of strength. I can serve as an example to other people who will see that the crises we all undergo and our difficulties can be a source of strength. Weakness bears great strength and curses bear great blessings, and it all depends on us.”

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The long-awaited album that wowed a country

 The return of a familiar friend

In June of 2017, the first single from Rita’s 12th album, “Nissim Shkufim,” (Transparent Miracles) was released: a song called “Haver Shel Paam.” (Friend from My Past) The song (lyrics by Noam Horev, music by Loren Peled, produced by Gilad Shmueli) was accompanied by a unique clip filmed in Israel and in the U.S. that was directed by Tom Avni and received much praise and lots of radio airtime. The song quickly became the most listened to single, a title it held onto for several weeks.

Embraced like long ago

In the beginning of August 2017, the album, “Nissim Shkufim,” was launched at a celebratory event at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art – during which another one of the album’s singles was broadcast for the first time – “Mizman” (Long Ago) (music and production by Nitzan Kaikov, lyrics by Tzruya Lahav). This single was also accompanied by a breathtaking and artistic clip, directed by Sasha Prilutsky, and combined creative photography techniques with color palette that was just bursting with emotion. “Mizman” was a musical success and was played countless times on the radio – to the delight of fans and members of the press alike.

A deeply personal testimonial

The album’s title track, “Nissim Shkufim,” was written by Rita herself (music by Loren Feld, produced by Gilad Shmueli). The song is one of four that Rita wrote for this album. The album also features lyrics by Rachel Shapira, Tzruya Lahav, Noam Horev and Tomer Memiah .

“Kchi Lach” (Take) is one of the album’s standout songs. Written by Rita and her oldest daughter Meshi, the song blossomed from a letter from mother to daughter, before Meshi embarked on a post-army service trip abroad. Meshi added a stanza of her own to the original text (at first called “Tzeida Laderech” (Provisions for the Way)), in which she responds to her mother, creating an exciting and captivating sung dialogue. “Kchi Lach” is Rita’s first musical collaboration with her daughter.

The fruit of her labors

The album is the result of 9 years of work (since the debut of “Remazim”) and it summarizes the process of gathering materials, recording songs, processing the music and putting it all together, that began before Rita’s Persian project, “Hasmachot Sheli” (My Joys). At the album launch, Rita said that “It became clear to me that I owe myself and my audience greater precision, much more precision and authenticity regarding the place I am in right now – my experiences, crises, joyous moments, painful occasions, the life lessons I have learned and the growing I have done. Today, I understand that this specific album could not have been released even a moment earlier, because it had a role to serve. I dream and pray that the songs in this album will give my audience that extra boost they need to cope with the merry-go-round of life.”

And the Critics Go Wild

“Nissim Shkufim proves once again that the scrupulous work of one diva, who had not released an original album for nearly a decade, was well worth it. She has brought to the tight-knit music industry pleasant sounds and feelings that please the ears and warm the heart… At the end of the day, this is an extremely successful musical compliation.”

Eran Itzkovitch, NRG

“This is a truly lovely album, one of Rita’s most successful bodies of work… the Israeli equivalent to Adele’s “25.” Song after song, we are exposed to beautiful music sung by Rita in the the most beautiful way she can. And does she know how to sing! It of course is reminiscent of the groove from ‘Remazim,’ which is simply a pleasure to listen to… Beautiful songs, each chosen with care, which is deeply felt. From the first single to the closing number, ‘Kshe’hi Tavo’ (When She Will Come), Rita maintains a high standard. It is such a pleasure to listen to this album.”

Gal Uchovsky, MAKO

“There are so many moments within ‘Nissim Shkufim’ that bring her old audience home. Her voice has remained impeccable and her toned down presentation, which began with her previous album, continues to benefit her. This is Rita’s most intimate album and the renewed connection with Tzruya Lahav’s texts (‘Mizman,’ ‘Hatchalat Boker’ (The Start of the Morning) and ‘Lo Mevateret’ (Won’t Give Up) written with Rita), add even more wondrous moments to her well-known repertoire (…) Despite the fact that almost every song was worked on by a different music producer, the album remains flows and is mostly pleasant and appealing.”

Amir Schwartz, Yediot Aharonot

* * *

New album, new tour, new paths

 

In November 2017, Rita has launched a new tour, celebrating the release of her new album, “Nissim Shkufim” (Transparent Miracles).

Rita is a must-see in this tour, realizing every phenomenal directorial attempt, in conjunction with a sense of artistic maturity she has fostered over the years. The concert is full of songs from her new album, as well as Rita’s greatest hits, cornerstones in the history of Israeli music.

 

The scrupulous and precise production process fulfills Rita’s dream to bring a new experience to the world of performing, including the integration of songs never before performed on a live stage: “Bo” (Come), “Mechaka” (Waiting), “Kova Ksamim” (Magic Hat), “Notza Baruach” (Feather in the Wind), “Haver Shel Paam” (Friend From My Past), “Mizman” (Long Ago), “Lo Mevateret” (Won’t Give Up), “Od Me’at” (Soon) and more.

 

The songs performed on this tour are presented in totally new arrangements and Rita will be accompanied by 12 musical virtuosos. Knesiat Hasechel member Ami Rice will lead the tour’s music production. This will be the second time that Rita and Ami collaborate. The first was during the production of her album, “Hasmachot Sheli” (My Joys).

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