A Song for Life | Remembering the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

CHARLETTE SHULAMIT OTTOLENGHI: A SONG FOR LIFE

Presented in collaboration with the Consulate General of Israel, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland and the Consulate General of Italy on the occasion on the 70th Anniversary of the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Ms. Ottolenghi will be accompanied by renowned pianist Shai Bachar

In world of increasing upheaval, we do not want that the sacrifice of the insurgents of the Warsaw Ghetto be forgotten. They demonstrated that even when everything is lost, human beings can save their dignity and that of the future generations. Primo Levi, 1983

In Italy, like elsewhere, the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto became a symbol of resistance, of a world that would never return and a new one that was about to be born. Israeli singer Charlette Shulamit Ottolenghi looks back on the bimillenarian Italian musical and liturgical heritage, that was largely destroyed in the Shoah, and chooses its most beautiful pieces to pay tribute to the memory of men and women who had the vision and the courage to break the logic of destruction. The repertoire of this concert draws on her two main projects: Italia Ebraica and A Voice for Life-Songs of Women in the Shoah, a unique program of songs written by Jewish and non Jewish women musicians in the camps.

Ms. Ottolenghi will include some little known and marvelous pieces including a kaddish by Michele Bolaffi (Livorno 1762-1842) and the Veshameru Bnai Israel of Maestro Vittore Veneziani, the La Scala Choir Conductor, who was banned under racial laws in 1938.

Jerusalem born musician Shai Bachar grew up absorbing the sounds and cultures of east and west, jazz and classical, traditional and modern influences. Today he is known as an international pianist and music director whose seemingly effortless improvisational style is grounded in classical training and a deep knowledge of world-music. Since 1998, Shai has based himself in New York, where his collaborations with various artists and projects allow him to continually stretch himself musically, travel the world, and develop deep ties inside the international music community.

With support from the Office of Cultural Affairs of the Consulate General of Israel.

ABOUT

“With her caressing intonation, Shulamit gives these melodies a unique character. The doleful and nostalgic tone of each song is masterly rendered by this gifted singer, who knows how to let her flexible and well-trained voice vibrate through the tender nuances of both text and music.”

(Enrico Fubini, Musicology Department University of Turin)

Charlette Shulamit Ottolenghi is an Italian-Israeli world music singer.  Brought up in Milan, by an Italian father and an English mother of Polish origin,  she emigrated to Israel in 1973.

While living in Jerusalem, she collaborates and performs regularly with prominent Italian musicians in Italy, Israel and in many European cities.

Focusing on  the  magnificent Jewish Italian musical  tradition, as well as other popular Italian and Jewish repertoires, Shulamit’s musical interests reflects her multifaceted identity .

Her newly released CD Italia Ebraica, a selection of Jewish Italian hymns and prayers, produced in Jerusalem under the musical direction of Maestro Orazio Corsaro, was the culmination of a process that began with the inaugurating concert held in Tel Aviv for the  homonymous exhibition of the  Italian Foreign Ministry  in December 2007.