She's Israel's answer to Kylie Minogue. No, not Schmylie Minogue, but Rita. I could relate her whole name (Yahan-Farouz Kleinstein), but it's longwinded and Rita suffices.The first privilege of the evening was finding The Arrebato Ensemble as support. In presenting just three pieces, this fivesome again showed themselves to be, well, awesome, in passionately delivering progressive flamenco, at times showing very Moorish roots; at others, exhibiting a rock-riffing sensibility, with orchestral manoeuvres in the dark reminiscent of early ELO, or even Hendrix.
At the heart of Arrebato, if I might restrict myself to that abbreviation, is Greg Alfonzetti, an Italian-Australian drawn to Spain to study guitar, whereupon he was given to tears while experiencing its beauty, up-close and personally. His playing is similarly moving.
I should say that all Arrebato's repertoire is original, with Alfonzetti a key compositional force. His significant musical other is Damian de Boos-Smith, a versatile prodigy from a high-achieving musical family steeped in classics. Smithy, on this occasion, confined himself to his main instrument 'cello, with a dab hand on guitar to boot.
It was very much drummer & percussionist Lloyd Gyi's night, with the resonant acoustics of the SOH Concert Hall well-suited to his dramatic style.
Dave Ellis was as solid a backbone, on bass, as ever and as upright an instrumental spine for which any ensemble could wish.
Andrew Poniris performed his customary feat of inspiring admiration for both his saxophony and harmonication. Brill!
Rita and her sextet hit the stage in stunningly vivid blazes of high-tech lighting; red, blue, green & virginal white. But none were as dazzling as her exotic Iranian birthright, which has endowed her with a sultry, intangible, yet earthy beauty. More importantly, her voice is also supremely, sublimely, divinely beautiful; delicate, even fragile, yet, at the same time, incongruously strong. For mine, her surprising excerpt from Carmen was probably the high point of the evening, despite a slew of immaculately-conceived, produced & polished pop-rock ballads. Most were delivered in Hebrew and, since my facility with that tongue is, at best, severely limited, I might well have missed key points; yet one had the sense that these were, in the main & final analysis, throwaway, anonymous, generic. Still and all, by journey's end, I was as captivated as the throng of starry-eyed youngsters and dewy-eyed not-so-youngsters who lauded, acclamated, vertically ovated, reached up, put and touched her, just as she, obviously, touched them. If candles had been lit and a concerted sway of arms taken hold it could've been Countdown, or YTT, all over again.
They knew all the words (well, a good many of them) and pulsated with her and the band. Rita, whose name, incidentally, means God's gift, is clearly as such, to many, many people. Her gift is her voice, but she gave another: her daughter's. While this might otherwise have come off as off-putting nepotism, the younger woman's distinctive, powerful, soulful instrument had people springing to their feet. Think Vanessa Amorosi, with arguably more finesse, or Joss Stone, and you're in the ballpark.
Again, there's nothing especially heartrending or, it seems to be, heartfelt, about most of the songs, but Rita's is a fantastic, and fantastical, theatrical performance. She has all the moves, physically and emotionally. Sultry, voluptuous and undeniably sexy, she flaunts many a gesture to which trumped-up, tramped-up Britney can only but pay homage. In that sense, Rita is the real deal.
In relating an anecdote about her trip from childhood to stardom, her timing and affectation is impeccable. She was the archetypal prodigy, a precocious four-year-old, sounding unreasonably melodious. After being bribed by a bunch o' bananas by her parents, she felt better about leaving her Persian birthplace, for Israel. Her burgeoning talents were more than enough to win her a scholarship to the Israeli Conservatory and, by 17, enlisted (compulsorily) in the IDF, she shone, as lead vocalist in the army's entertainment group.
An unconventional path to superstardom: she wasn't discovered, but did the hard yards. She furthered her studies at the Academy for the Arts of Stage and Screen, soon gracing both, after graduating magna cum laude (with great honour).
To inspire that much more envy and admiration, Rita wasn't averse to dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv and was something of a 'Billie Elliot', to boot. In fact, she won a national title. Her tilt at Eurovision might've fallen short, but it was by no means her undoing. The song, as well as her pneumatic exposition of it, drew attention. It was the mid-to-late 80s and Rita's star was rising. Fast. In the same year she starred in My Fair Lady and released her debut album. The rest as they say, is history (or herstory) and, in her case, a compelling one.
It seems every year is a big one for Rita. Just this year (and it's only just April), Rita's been voted best Israeli singer of the past 60 years and her latest album, Remazim (Hints), has gone platinum. And the accolades know no bounds: the Israeli equiv of Radio National named her singer of the year & a leading paper 'woman of the decade, for stage arts'.
Live, she earns the kudos. Backed by first-rate musicians, there was no hint of a falter all evening. Moreover, it was, in every way, a generous and appreciative performance, and the audience, overwhelmingly, lapped it up. It was easy to see how and why Israel's queen of song has acquired her crown. I'm sure playing in Utzon's grand cathedral, in our glittering city, on an idyllic autumnal Sunday, will prove a jewel in it, too!
Hemispheres at Sydney Opera House presents
Rita
In association with One Entertainment
Venue: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Dates/Times: Sunday 5 April at 8pm
Duration: 120 minutes
Tickets: $49 - $120
Bookings: (02) 9250 7777 | sydneyoperahouse.com
Visit: myspace.com/ritaofficial
