SHULAMIT
* "A splendid concert, one of the most important held in Ferrara in the last years”
from; Ferrara Italia (23.9.2019)
* "The poems of PRIMO LEVI presented in musical form by Shulamit Ottolenghi – voice, Frank London - trumpet, and Shai Bachar- piano.
The program, devoted to the Italian writer and Holocaust witness, was premiered at the Flautissimo Festival in Rome, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of the Fascist Race Laws, enchanting the large audience at the Teatro Vascello.
An homage to the author of If this is a Man, the program is the fruit of a journey along the path of reflection on the theme of memory, jointly undertaken by the artists.
REVIEWS
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* "For You the Sun Will Shine is something quite new, different and essential... she sings lullabyes, kaddishes, Brecht-Weillian cabaret, parodies, anthems with a Socialist sway, prayers and death march waltzes, bitter, longing, enraged, despairing. Healing broken music, arrangers London and Bachar are by turns taciturn and elegant, stirring and experimental, trumpeter London especially the vigorous tummler, Bachar constant and nourishing as the rain." (avantmusicnews.com 2/16)
* "Shulamit sings against Shai Bachar’s stark piano and Frank London’s expansive Klezmer-tinged trumpet ★★★★☆
(Album Review, Financial Times (UK), 8/28/15)
* "Shulamit performs the music with haunting empathy in their original languages... A powerful, cathartic experience" (Midwestbookreview.com, 6/15)
* "There is plenty of darkness in the record, but there is optimism too. It might be stretching the imagination a mite to classify a program of works by female Holocaust victims and survivorsas "alernative", but there is definitely a left-field flavor to the show that will take place in Tzavta Tel Aviv...Ottolenghi's emotional vocal delivery is complemented and enhanced by the polished instrumental skills, and daring arrangement " (Barry Davis, The Jerusalem Post, 4/26/16)
* “Yesterday, on the evening of the Holocaust Remembrance day, a crowd of hundreds gathered to listen to the presenting concert of “For you the sun will shine" in Tzavta Tel Aviv... I am not ashamed to admit I was filled by a mixture of sadness and uprising feelings... I dived into the sounds and the beautiful musical arrangements and more than once I actually felt I was there...” (Tirza Hechter, for hatzlacha.worldpress.com 6/5/16)
* "Shulamit goes beyond the usual melodies of these songs, featuring a cabaret concert without comparison... Frank London enters into duets with her that are heart-gripping" (Rosie Rosenzweig, Performing Arts Examiner for Examiner.com, 4/3/15)
* “Singing in her magnificent voice was Shulamit... The result was deeply effective and Shulamit's extraordinary voice mingles nostalgically with the folkloric accompaniment." (Anna Foa - Osservatore Romano – The Vatican, 5/12)
* “a powerful and convincing interpreter with warm and incisive tonalities, … intense feelings of suffering and living, with a sweet and inner feminine sensitivity...an interpretation that wholly absorbed the singer and the audience.” (Renato Chiesa, Shalom, Rome, 2005)
* "...provides a profound, transparent and contemporary perspective on these songs... The approach is modern, her voice is full of power and pathos, and the electronic musical notes reinforce and echo the sentiments..." (Shlomo Israeli, Artistic Advisor to Israel Festival, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1/06 in Rome)
* "Shulamit's interpretation is an example of style – a sort of internal, light whisper, which extends with balance, kindness, and well-measured energy, bringing the listener to a world within, a deep and moving adventure which caresses the heart.”
(Maurizio G. de Bonis, Shalom, Rome, 2002)
* "Shulamit, thanks to her sweet, caressing intonation, gives these melodies a unique character. The doleful and nostalgic tone of these songs is masterly rendered by this gifted singer...”
(Professor Enrico Fubini, Musicology Department University of Turin​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​o 2001)
“At a time when the rhetorical abuse of the memory of the SHOAH is ever more widespread, Primo Levi’s morally- unambiguous warning against all perversions of power seems more relevant than ever,” says vocalist Shulamit Ottolenghi , who has worked on the project for two intense years. “For Levi, writing is above all aimed at communication between human beings. As he writes in his essay “Dello scrivere oscuro”, an author who doesn’t make himself understood is like a man who shouts in the desert. It is my hope,” says the Milan-born vocalist, who has been living in Israel since 1973, “that this project can contribute to spread his words, amplifying their communicability that was so dear to Levi’s heart, so that their message can reach a public as vast as possible”.
Says Stefano Cioffi, artistic director of the Flautissimo Festival: “For the public attending the show, it has been an experience of rare artistic and spiritual significance. The words of Primo Levi have resounded clearer and more powerful than ever, accentuated by music…. that masterfully defined and expanded their meaning, without ever overpowering them. “ Cioffi further remarked on the exceptional musical performance by London and Bechar, and the extraordinary intensity of Ottolenghi’s vocal performance"
)from; Moked blog, Rome, 18.11.2018)
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