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"I perform in front of thousands abroad and then arrive in Israel and have to explain to a 20-year-old reporter who I am" - Voila! Culture

2022-09-21T21:26:46.241Z


Ladino singer Yasmin Levy appears on the biggest stages in the world, but frustrated by her being ignored, she wins in Israel


"I perform in front of thousands abroad and then arrive in Israel and have to explain to a 20-year-old reporter who I am"

Ladino singer Yasmin Levy appears on the biggest stages in the world, but frustrated by her being ignored, she wins in Israel.

In an interview before a performance at the Abu Ghosh festival on Sukkot, she also talks about the decision to have children ("If I didn't have them, I would be somewhere else in my career") and the dream of performing in Iran

Sagi Ben Nun

09/22/2022

Thursday, September 22, 2022, 00:00 Updated: 00:05

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"If I didn't have children I would be in a different position in my career."

Yasmin Levy (Photo: Hela Emanuel)

"Father told mother - I can't live with a female singer, so my mother stopped singing when they got married, and carried the sadness all her life. Father also asked that none of his children be musicians. When I wanted to sing, mother told me - Jasmine, don't be like me "

Singer and composer Yasmin Levy was only a year and a half old when her father, the singer and researcher of Ladino music Yitzhak Levy, died.

Although Jasmine has no memory of her father, he had a dramatic impact on her life.

To a large extent she even followed his path and preserved Ladino poetry.

"I grew up with a very, very dominant and present figure in my life, despite her death," Levy says in an interview with Walla!

culture.

"I don't remember anything about him, but his voice is present in my life and I know his voice better than the back of my hand. It's thanks to my mother and she is her eldest. She still talks about him to this day as if he were alive. It's an indescribable love. For me, my father lives more in his death than in his lifetime, and he left a tremendous legacy."



"My father told my mother - I can't live with a woman who is a singer, so my mother stopped singing when she married him. He asked her to choose whether she wanted to be his wife or a singer. She chose to be his wife. She carried this sadness all her life, But alongside that she had an infinite love for him. We are talking about 50 years ago. When I asked her, if father were alive today and asked you again to choose between being a singer and being his wife, what would you choose? She said - I would still choose to be his wife today. Father also asked that none of his children be musicians. When I wanted to sing, mother told me - Yasmin, don't be like me."



The difficult and huge sacrifice of your mother, giving up singing for your father, reminds me that in the series "Virgins" where you played, your character makes another huge sacrifice for the human being she fell in love with - and amputates her legs for him.

There are singers for whom giving up singing is a more difficult sacrifice than giving up your legs.



"Listen, to give up poetry is to give up the essence, the existence. If you take my poetry away from me very quickly, you will see me wither and wither and without any joy in life. I saw what happened to us in Corona - we were miserable, because our poetry is not only a livelihood. I am not I know how to do something else. I'll open a bakery? I don't know what I'll do without singing."



If we talk about the battles, do you see the decision to stay in Israel with the family and not move abroad and strengthen your successful career overseas, as a sacrifice?



"I thank God that I had a husband who, in this sense, is the complete opposite of my father in this matter. He got up every day and asked me what do you want to sing, how and where. The children came after I felt that I had fulfilled myself as a person, and I could move on to parenting from a non-victim place. This affects Raising the children because there is no frustration. If they told me, 'We'll take away your singing today so you can raise the children,' I would do it, but you would see a different mother, very turned off. I'm not sure I did the battles, luckily for me. Sometimes I sail in my dreams And in my imagination, and it's clear that if I didn't have children I would be in a different career-wise situation. There were offers I received and I refused them because I didn't want to uproot my children from the family.



"I remember that the Portuguese singer Amalia Rodríguez and the Greek singer Maria Callas said: 'You want a career? So don't have children.' Maria Callas did choose not to have children. Shoshana Demari abandoned her daughter. There are many such stories. Poetry, which you can't resist. But it also depends on the generation. Today times are different, and there are husbands who support and there are babysitters and there is openness and understanding."

"My biggest dream is to perform in Iran."

Yasmin Levy (Photo: Hela Emanuel)

Yasmin Levy will perform the show "Passion and Emotion" with Yaniv Daur and the Naya Ensemble on October 13 at the Abu Gush Veteran Festival, in the Leah Rabin Hall at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv.

They will perform Spanish and Italian music in a show that will be held on the third day of the festival (the festival will be held on Sukkot, from October 11 to 13, tickets can be purchased here).

The festival, which is artistically managed again this year by Amit Tiefenbrunn, will present concerts and quality music performances in diverse styles - classical, ethnic, chamber concerts, folk shows and Israeli classics, in the unique atmosphere of the festival accompanied by food and wine.



Last year the festival moved to the Yitzhak Rabin Center following the closure of Yarim Church in Abu Gush for renovations.

In recent years the nature of the festival has changed to some extent.

If in the past the western classical music dominated the festival and the majority was with choirs, now about half of the festival consists of non-western classical music, world music through flamenco and even classic rock.

The following will also perform at the festival this year: Guy Mintos, Vaukefel Limburg from Belgium, Hortus Musicus with Anders Mostonen from Estonia, Liat Saba and the Galilee Ensemble, the violinist Roy Shiloh, the Rockberry Sisters, Daniela Skorka, the Barocada Orchestra, Jacks of Diamond, the Israeli Vocal Ensemble and more.



"What fascinates me about this festival is the uniqueness, the unity and the bridge between the people," Levy says.

"That's how I see this festival, as a bridge. The festival bridges people through art and music. It bridges cultures. And all the time it walks on the edge, takes edges of things, chooses venues that probably wouldn't connect naturally. And that's what's beautiful about it. The festival Teasing the listener. Positive teasing. He challenges the listener. And that's beautiful."



Tell us about your show with counter-tenor Yaniv Daur, "Passion and Emotion", where your different musical worlds meet.



"Passion and emotion is my second name. I and Yaniv have been friends for many years. We always talked about doing something like this, but only when the connection happened, in a show where we once performed at the piano festival, did I stand on its very special nature. We really come from two different worlds. I am a fan the baroque music and this is part of Yaniv's world. He also sang for many years to Edinou in his classical interpretation, which was true to medieval poetry, and I and my peers brought it to something more popular and more domestic, as it should have been in my opinion because the mothers would sing it at home and the men in the synagogues Yaniv reminds me of her previous incarnations. It was something very high, European. We simply bring all her colors on one stage, and it's a dream. My whole essence as a person and as a singer is passion and emotion. He brings me into his world, and I bring him into his world My".

More in Walla!

The Abu Ghosh festival returns in Sukkot: "Everything can be a classic. It is not limited to music from a certain year"

To the full article

"In the past, many people who wanted to reach the public consciousness would go to those 3 classics of Ladino, to entertain the audience. It hurt and hurt me. I felt that Ladino poetry was being taken advantage of. I insist on albums and performances like the one I will hold at the Abu Ghosh festival to bring things that others do not touch because they are not commercial"

One of the beautiful things in your way and also in this show, is the performance of Spanish and Latino music in an exciting way - but without slipping into the realms of schmaltz.



"Listen, there was a period 10 years ago that I was witness to, when many people who wanted to reach the public consciousness would go to those 3-4 Ladino classics, and get staged. It always bothered me and hurt me. This is a phenomenon that I did not respect because I felt that the poetry of Ladino. We will do four songs to entertain the audience, applause and beauty. Ladino is an inexhaustible treasure of cultural beauty that is centuries old, which itself consists of a combination of different cultures. In Ladino you can get colors from all the Balkan countries. For example, there is a Ladino song in five versions, in Turkish and Moroccan and more . To come and sing 'Shaharorut Yakraoni' is great, but these are not the only aspects of Ladino singing. That's why, when I go on stage, I sing to the audience things that they like, but I insist in my concerts and albums to bring things that others don't touch, because they are not commercial. Here It's an artistic show, and it's the ultimate freedom for Yaniv and me, because we're not lecturing anyone. You have to understand that - we're not entertainers but artists,That this stage at the Abu Ghosh festival gives us the opportunity to be faithful to our art."

More in Walla!

A man finds himself: it's been years since we've enjoyed a doco like "Vazakhroni the First" on Shlomo Artzi

To the full article

The 46-year-old singer and creator Yasmin Levy, who is associated with Ladino poetry and Spanish music, has achieved great success in the world.

Her Ladino debut album, the self-titled Romance & Yasmin, led to her nomination in the Discovery of the Year category at the BBC World Music Awards.

Her fourth album "Sentir" qualified for seventh place on Billboard's World Music Albums Chart, and Time magazine named it one of the best albums of 2009. Her fifth album "Libertad" entered sixth place on Billboard's Greek Albums Chart.

The song "Una noche mas" has garnered tens of millions of views on YouTube.

Levy sang duets with great international singers, including Haris Alexiou, Ibrahim Tetalis and Enrico Macias.

She has performed extensively around the world including prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House and with philharmonic orchestras around the world.

Compared to these achievements overseas, in Israel it did not come close to the success and recognition it received abroad.

"My hardest feeling is that my music doesn't have a home, so I don't have a home either. I performed in the biggest opera house in Poland, in front of thousands in Greece and in front of the Prime Minister of Romania. Then I come to Israel and have to explain to a 20-year-old reporter what I do, so they can write about me It's a very emotionally difficult gap."

You are successful in the world, and so for example since the beginning of the year you have performed in Poland, Greece, Turkey, Romania and Germany among others.

On the other hand, in Israel you are less known and you are played on the radio in a dose that does not match your talent and the recognition of you in the world.

How do you feel about this gap?



"It makes me very sad. I understand that I don't sing in Hebrew, but my hardest feeling is that there is no home for my music. And when there is no home for my music - then I don't have a home. And it's strange, because I have a home all over the world, where there is an audience in the world - I have a house. But the feeling at the end of the day is that I don't have a house. Let's say you entered a broken place."



In addition to the abundance of your work that is not in Hebrew, you still tried your best and released one album in Hebrew and several other songs in Hebrew outside of the album - and they did not succeed.

How do you explain that?



"I failed with the album in Hebrew. I released it in time when I got a role at the Royal National Theater in London. It was a period that ended up being very difficult for me. It came out, and while I was supposed to do all the promo, I abandoned it. I did a terrible sin to leave it. You know, I've just returned from home The opera in Poland, it's the largest opera house in the world. It was sold out a month in advance. I performed in front of 5,000 people in Greece. I recently performed with the Romanian orchestra in front of the Prime Minister of Romania. Then I come to Israel, and I have to explain every time anew to some 20-year-old reporter what I do it, so that they will kindly write about me. It's a very, very difficult gap emotionally. I go up and down every time, up and down. It's not easy. I also get a lot of love, but I don't have a home. Israel, unfortunately, is not a home for my music. And it makes me sad. God forbid I don't blame anyone - I can only complain to myself - I hardly sing in Hebrew, I was outside a lot of the time. I just think that people's ears in Israel don't connect to my type of singing.I think I was born in the wrong country and in the wrong generation."



What is the most bizarre or funny moment that happened to you at concerts abroad?



"I had the privilege of performing in front of the world.

The great singers of Greece, the great singers of Turkey, very famous people that I grew up with all my life.

It was there that I discovered modesty and human beauty.

I appeared in front of presidents, prime ministers and ambassadors.

I've been to Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House.

I was embarrassed by it.

Do I remember any of this?

Nothing.

I don't remember what the hall looked like and I don't remember anything.

But I do remember a show in Uzbekistan, in a village of poor people.

At the end of the show I wanted to go to the comforts.

The village crowd simply split in two, like in the exodus from Egypt, people in the village moved to both sides, and led me respectfully and excitedly to the comforts.

I got off the stage, I walked slowly, with everyone looking at me, they took me into the forest, and said to me: Do you see there, where there are sheep?

The name of the services.

I will never forget that, it was the most beautiful thing I have experienced in my life."

More in Walla!

Adam Doritz: "I had a lot of mental problems and music was the one that took care of them"

To the full article

"Passion and emotion is my middle name."

Yasmin Levy (Photo: Hela Emanuel)

From the Acom data published this week, it appears that there has been a dramatic improvement in the position of female singers in the ranking of the most played songs this year on the radio. Half of the 20 most played songs include female voices. Do you think that the reduction of discrimination against female singers on the radio will be a one-time figure for this year or a change in trend that will continue?



"I hope there is a change in trend here. But the trend changed not thanks to the radio editors but because female singers today have more courage, and they managed to decipher something. For many years I have been asked if it is difficult to be a woman in the industry and I say no. The female voices are what lead the music. She sang Ladino survived thanks to the women, but they wouldn't go on stage, and that's a disgrace. I think that women's choice of songs is deeper. When a man comes and makes you happy and happy, he can sing 'Move the Tusik', but a woman can't. In the end, what you want is to entertain, We want people to dance and move. Women sing more about the womb and the pain. But today I hear girls singing things that they didn't sing until recently, there is some new movement of not taking things too seriously, and let's have fun. I think this is also a reason why more women are singing."



You said before that you also have fans in Iran.

Do you dream of appearing there?



"My biggest audience is in Iran, they come to my shows in Turkey and the United States. I can't get there. It's my dream, to perform there. They are among the best people that humanity has, full of heart and giving. It's a vision of the end of days. After that I can retire quietly".

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Source: walla

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