World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Tel Aviv  - Culture
Culture

Tel Aviv has a deep-rooted cultural heritage that reflects the many communities and religions that have shaped it. The city offers opera, Israeli and classical music concerts several times a week. These are generally staged by the world-famous Israel Philarmonic Orchestra, the New Israeli Opera and the Israel Chamber Orchestra. For modern ballet and dance, both the Habimah Theatre and the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre stage avant-garde and modern performances with simultaneous translations into English. Rakia (tel: (03) 561 7218; web site: www.rakia.com) is an exhaustive reference for Israel's cultural institutions, covering everything from theatre, music, dance, art and literature to libraries, museums and festivals, throughout Israel.

Music:
The city is home of many of the world's leading classical conductors and soloists, including James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Itzhak Pearlman and Pinchas Zuckerman. The Israel Philarmonic Orchestra is housed at the main music hall, Frederic R Mann Auditorium, and is located on Huberman Street (tel: (03) 528 8660). The Tel Aviv Symphony Orchestra is located at the city's Ohel Shem Auditorium, Balfour Street (tel: (03) 525 2266). The orchestra plays an active role in the cultural life of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, participating in various annual events including Vocalisa and Jaffa Nights. With only 800 seats it is best to book in advance.

For opera, the new complex, the Golda Meir Centre, 28 Leonardo Da Vince Street (tel: (03) 692 7707), is home to the New Israeli Opera. Each season the company stages seven productions, and also showcases internationally reputed foreign directors, conductors and singers.

Theatre:
The theatre scene in Israel is booming and productions at the Cameri Theatre on Dizengoff Street (tel: (03) 524 5211), and Habima Theatre, Sderot Tarsat (tel: (03) 209 888), are often impressive. About 60 of Israel's finest actors form the Cameri Theatre's permanent company. With a diverse selection of original Israeli creations, selected world classics and contemporary dramas, the theatre has produced around 400 plays. The company stages 10 to 14 new productions annually attracting a wide audience in addition to its 27,000 subscribers. The Habima National Theatre of Israel was founded in 1917, and today stages 15 productions per season. Touring widely, the company has performed at major drama festivals including those in Paris, London and Berlin. Audiences seeking an alternative evening's entertainment will enjoy the Israeli Yiddish Theatre Company, frequently on stage in Tel Aviv, usually at ZOA House (tel: (03) 695 9341).

Dance:
The city's main venue for modern and classical dance is the Suzanne Dellal Centre, 6 Yehieli Street, Neve Zedek (tel: (03) 517 1471), home of the Inbal and Batsheva dance companies. Founded by the world-famous Martha Graham in 1964, the Batsheva Dance Company (web site: ww.rakia.com/batsheva) is Israel's most critically acclaimed contemporary dance troupe. For classical dance, the Israel Ballet is located at Heh Ber-Iyar Circle (tel: (03) 696 6610). Comprising 30 dancers, the company platforms works from an international classical repertoire, as well as original works. In 1981, the company performed throughout the United States, where Berta Yampolsky's choreography for Dvorak Variations won the Critics' Prize for Best Foreign Choreography.

Film:
Most Hebrew and foreign films are subtitled in English while maintaining their original soundtrack. American films often reach Israel before the UK, so visitors can enjoy sneak previews of the latest Hollywood blockbuster. The mainstream cinemas in the city centre are Dizengoff 1-3, Dizengoff Centre (tel: (03) 620 0485) and Gordon (tel: (03) 524 4373), on the corner of Ben Yehuda and Gordon Streets. For arthouse films, the Cinemateque, 2 Sprinzak Street (tel: (03) 691 7181), is Tel Aviv's first independent cinema screening premiers of short and full-length Israeli films every evening. The cinema also holds a variety of film festivals including the Student Film Festival, Jazz, Film and Videotape Festival and Salute to Israeli Cinema. Visitors with an avid interest in Jewish films should also visit the Israel Film Archive in Jerusalem, Hevron Road (tel: (02) 724 131). The Archive's collection is the biggest of its kind in Israel, housing over 18,000 feature films, documentaries, short films and a selection of Jewish films from around the world.

Cultural events:
Held annually in mid-August for four days and comprising over 70 music, theatre, dance and art exhibitions, Jaffa Nights is Israel's largest street-staged event. In the evenings, Old Jaffa is closed to traffic, as stages are erected in squares, plazas and alleyways. All events are free and visitors number tens of thousands.

For classical music lovers, The International Opera Festival in Caesarea (25 May-21 June) is worth a visit. Launched in May 2000, the festival is located in the spectacular Roman amphitheatre at Caesarea, south of Haifa. Visitors who come to Israel in October should take a trip to Rishon Le-Zion (situated 40 km (25 miles) south of Tel Aviv) to indulge in Israel's two-day Wine Festival. In 1997, the festival attracted an audience of some 350,000 people. While sampling wines from the country's best vineyards, visitors can enjoy performances by some 2500 musicians who gather yearly throughout the country.
Literary Notes

Haim Nahman Bialik
(1873-1934) is celebrated as the first Hebrew literary figure of the modern age. In the City of Slaughter (1904) was acclaimed as a powerful statement of anguish at the situation of the Jews during the early part of the twentieth century. More recently, In the Land of Israel by Amos Oz (1982) is a timeless poignant work, drawing from encounters the author made with religious Jews, Palestinians and new immigrants to convey the plight of the Israeli people. Almost rivalling Oz in his collection of international accolades is David Grossman. Grossman's Sea Under Love (1997) is a heartfelt novel, whose central character, Momik is the only child of two holocaust survivors, confronting the darkness of his ancestry. His novels have drawn comparison to Gabriel Garcia Marquez for their sombre, yet poetic rendering. Belonging to a generation older than Oz and Grossman, AB Yehoshua, a native of Haifa, is one of Israel's foremost living writers, still producing highly regarded work. One of his recent novels, Mr Mani (1993) is a six-generational epic of a wandering Jewish family.



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
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