The most successful Israeli singer in the world will celebrate her 80th birthday with a tour in Israel alongside Yehoram Gaon. In a rare interview, she talks about her sad Covid year and how she longs to see again her only son who lives in the United States. 


After six years since her last performance in Israel, Esther Ofarim (80), one of the queens of Hebrew music who has been living in Germany for 60 years, will be taking part in Yehoram Gaon’s "Celebrating with Pride" tour. Both artists will be performing together on three consecutive evenings (August 2-4) at the Tel Aviv Hall of Culture. "It's not yet been decided what songs I will sing in the show, probably 'Hayu Leilot', 'Shir Hanoded' and one more song, and also a duet with Yehoram," she says in a rare interview from her home in Hamburg. 


Excited about once more singing in Israel?
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"My answer would be a cliché: I get excited for every show, but as always I am very happy to come to Israel. Before I come to Israel I have whole concerts planned in Germany, where all the burden is on me, so in Israel the shows will be less stressful. This time I will only be a guest of Yehoram Gaon."

Are you friends?

"Not friends in the usual sense, but what does it matter, all of Israel is my friend (laughs). This is not the first time that Yehoram and I are together on stage, and it is always exciting and inspiring because I really like Yehoram, especially because of his Ladino songs. Seven years ago I was a guest on his show at the Israel Festival and we sang two songs together: 'Ma Omrot Eynaich' and 'Adio Querida' in Ladino. I had his records at home, among them the Ladino record - from which I learned some songs and even sang them in my performances in Germany." 


How do you manage to maintain a clear and powerful voice for so many years?

"Thanks for the compliment. As you know, I haven't performed for a long time because of Covid, so I do not know at the moment if I have a clear and powerful voice - we will have to see how it goes. I don't do anything special to keep my voice in shape, it just happens." 



Are you now performing again after the Covid crisis?

"In recent years I have only performed in Hamburg and Dortmund, especially in the winter, and there have been two winters now when I haven't performed, but in a month’s time I will have whole concerts here again, and I hope by then there will be some easing of the Covid regulations. Two weeks ago I was at the St. Pauli Theater in Hamburg, where I usually perform. We sat with our masks on, the row in front of me was completely empty and so were the chairs on either side of me. It's very sad to see it like that, however." 



How did you go through this period personally?

"I was sad, not only because of the distance from the stage, but also because of the distance from the world, the people, the feedback, that I so desperately need. It's heartbreaking how the Covid crisis is affecting young people. I was able to see it for myself. I live by the lake in Hamburg and I do a 50-minute walk every day and see people who look quite happy, but in general the atmosphere is quite miserable. We don't ask for much now, just to be able to sit in a restaurant and even just that is something special. The Covid crisis has taught us some humility


At the age of 40 you became a mother for the first and only time. Was your career the reason why it didn’t happen sooner?

"Honestly no, it just never happened. I did not give up my career when David was born. I remember when he was a year old I got an offer to perform in Joshua Sobol's Ghetto play in Berlin, the work was very intense. And Philipp, my ex-husband, was a great parent to David, much better than me. He read him children's stories, played with him and took care of him. We divorced when my son was nine, and he stayed with me. At the age of ten he moved to Hebron Academy in Massachusetts, USA. After a few years he came back to Germany, studied in Berlin and then went to Boston to study at Berkeley College of Music. " 



Your son is on starting along a musical path in the United States. Do you have a professional relationship?

"We are very close, we talk every night and there is a deep, warm and loving bond between us, but professionally there is no connection. I do not even ask him what he does, we only talk about life, not music. He is into electronic music and does everything by himself. Unlike me, he makes music from A to Z and I think he's great and very talented. " 



Do you already have any grandchildren?

(Laughs) "No, there are no grandchildren yet, but there is hope."


Are you still identified as an Israeli in Germany or have you already forgotten that you are from here?

"I think everyone knows that I am Israeli, but in my repertoire the focus is not on songs in Hebrew. There are maybe three or four Hebrew songs in a concert of 22-24 songs, and they are very well received here." 



Do you sometimes manage to stand up for Israel in difficult times when the whole world is against us?

"As you have noticed, I am not a good friend of the media and the media is not a good friend of mine. The fact that we are talking now is rare. Here in Germany I am no longer asked if I want to be interviewed or appear on TV, because they already know the answer. There is an anti-Israel mood here, politically everyone is in favour of Israel and everyone here says that Israel has a right to defend itself, so the Israeli government does not need my help." 

When did you realise you wanted to be a singer?

"Actually I wanted to be an actress. I grew up in Haifa and played in a children's theatre from the age of 14, then I played in a community theatre run by the Israeli-Canadian director Peter Fry, where I was actually discovered. Abi Ofarim appeared as a duo with Shmulik Krauss and I joined them. I later married him." 


You got married and divorced twice. Do you have a relationship today?

"True, I'm divorced twice, but as for a relationship I'll make no comment."


Along with your first husband you have been very successful throughout the world. How did your international career begin?

"I represented Israel in a song festival in Poland with the song 'Stav', by Samson Halfi and Moshe Wilensky. I was really young, it was the first time I had been abroad, I did not know English. Following that I was invited to perform in Geneva. I was very successful there, and in 1963 I was chosen to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest. I sang the song "Do Not Leave", in French. " (T'en va pas)



How was the Eurovision experience?

"I'll tell you a secret: I did not like it at all, it's so stupid and I do not like competitions like this, there is a lot of intrigue in them. In fact, I won first place, but then Scandinavia appealed and changed the score. I dropped to second place. I did not care, this scandal made me famous. I was invited to perform in London and Paris and that's how I became famous all over Europe. It was a song without any serious content but one you can enjoy listening to, as long as you don’t take it too seriously. That's what led me to stay. It was not a conscious decision to leave Israel, it just happened." 


Is there a chance that you will return to Israel?

"Let's see. I do not rule it out. I come to Israel twice a year on family visits regardless of performances. I have a very close connection to Israel, I have many friends, brothers and sisters, and I really like to visit them."