David "Dudu" Fisher
(born November 18, 1951; ???? ????) is an Israeli cantor and stage performer.
He is best known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Misérables
.
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DUDU FISHER TICKETS
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Cantorial career
The son of a
Holocaust survivor, Fisher was born in
Petah Tikva,
Israel. He began studying at age 22, after the
Yom Kippur War and his discharge from the army following three years of service.
Fisher studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, and studied privately under cantor Shlomo Ravitz. He then took up the cantorial position at the
Great Synagogue in
Tel Aviv, followed by four years in
South Africa. For over 20 years, Fisher was the cantor at
Kutsher's Hotel in the
Catskills during the Jewish
high holidays. In 2005 Fisher became the Chief Cantor of
New York Synagogue.
Les Miserables
After being mesmerised by the
London performance of the 1980s hit musical, Fisher, despite no prior acting experience, requested the part in a
Hebrew production of
Les Misérables
. He played its leading role, Jean Valjean, in Israel from 1987 to 1990, and made local fame.
He played the role on
New York's
Broadway during the winter of 1993-4, and later at London's
West End, where he was invited to perform before
Queen Elizabeth II. At both venues, Dudu was the first performer excused from Friday night and Saturday performances, as he is an
Orthodox Jew and was not able to perform because of the
Sabbath.
Other performance roles
Among Fisher's other performances is his one-man
Off-Broadway show,
Never on Friday
, an anecdotal work exploring the complications of his experience on Broadway as an observant Jew. He performed in many tours around Israel, the
United States, and the world, particularly in Jewish communities, performing classics, as well as musicals, such as
Over the Rainbow
which toured Israel with Fisher performing 40 Broadway
show tunes.
He performed for
United States President Bill Clinton and
Hillary Clinton, for Britain's Royal family, and for the Thai Royal family.
Fisher has also performed with the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by
Zubin Mehta, with a performance televised in
France, and with the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Queens Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded an album of show tunes with the
London Symphony Orchestra. He was the first Israeli artist allowed to sing in the
Soviet Union before
perestroika.
In May 2009 Fisher sang, along with
contratenor David D'Or, for
Pope Benedict XVI as the Pope visited Israel.
[1] [2]
Discography
In addition to his stage and synagogue performance, Dudu Fisher has released over 25 albums, including songs in
Hebrew,
Yiddish, and
English, many classics and cantorial pieces, as well as music for children. He also sang the part of
Moses in the Hebrew version of
Steven Spielberg's animated film,
The Prince of Egypt
.
- Hatikvah
(2005)
- Lehitei Yiddish Beivrit
(Yiddish hits in Hebrew
) (2005)
- Coming to America
(2004)
- Prayers On Broadway
(2003)
- Songs Of My Heart
(2002)
- Mamenyu
(2001)
- Odecha
(1999)
- L'tav Ulchayim V'lishlam
(For Good, For Life & For Peace
) (1997)
- Never On Friday
(1996)
- Az Yashir David
(1996)
- Beshem Hashem
(In God's Name
) (1994)
- Showstoppers
(1994)
- The Malavsky Family Songs
(1993)
- Mamma Loshon
(Mother Tongue
) (1992)
- Velvet Tiger
(1992)
- Golden Chasidic Song
(1992)
- Gift
(1992)
- Tonight, A Musical
(1991)
- Stairways To Heaven
(1990)
- Over the Rainbow
(1989)
- Yiddishkiet
(1988)
- Elokai Neshama
(1985)
- Golden Yiddish Favorites
(1985)
- Childhood Years
- Raisins and Almonds
- Songs Of The Living
- Yiddishe Mamme
- Dudu Fisher's Kindergarten
(DVD/VHS):
- # (1998) (translated to English)
- # We Are All Friends
(2000)
- # From The Heart And Soul
(2001)
- # The Friendship Trip
(2002) (Translated to English)
- # It's The Thought That Counts
(2003)
- # From The Mouth Of The Infants
- # Shabat Shalom
- # Shana Tova
- # And Thou Rejoice In Thy Feast
- # From Slavery To Freedom
- # A Great Miracle Happened There
- # ''Shavuot Holyday
- # Jerusalen
(Translated to English)
- # Purim
He also joined
David D'Or, Eran Zur, and Meir Banai in the song "Lisa" on the 1994 album "
Radio Blah-Blah
" by the Israeli band "The Friends of Natasha".
References
- Grapevine: The eyes have it
- David D'Or and Dudu Fisher Sing for the Pope