Fifty years of spectacular performances calls for a celebration, and Dudu Fisher is sharing his milestone anniversary with gala shows in 14 different cities throughout Israel from August 27 until November 28.
Last year, Fisher canceled his anniversary shows after October 7. Nevertheless, invitations to perform kept coming in.
“People, especially overseas, are looking for us to bring them words of strength and comfort from Israel,” Fisher told The Jerusalem Post. “Therefore, we decided to go ahead with a run of shows here and abroad, and the response has been sold-out performances. Now I understand people need music in times like this, and the best way to give hope is through personal stories mixed with songs of faith and prayer.”
“Our upcoming shows will bring to the stage three of the world’s finest tenors, Yonatan Cohen, Felix Livshitz, and Nimrod Greenbaum, with my son Schmichael (Shmuel Michael), who is only eight years old and very talented. We will be joined and accompanied by the Ra’anana Symphonette Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Moshe Danino. The performances will include stories, hit songs from musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, and Phantom of the Opera; prayers for our beloved soldiers; my songs; Kol Nidrei; Leonard Cohen’s songs; and many more.”
He called bringing happiness to others a mission. “By nature, I am a very happy person, especially when I’m in the studio or on stage,” Fisher said. “I always said, give me a good sound system, open the lights on stage, an audience, and I am the happiest man in the world. Furthermore, to represent my country Israel and Jewish people around the world makes me happy.”
Fisher did not start out with a desire to be a singer. Born in 1951 in Petah Tikva to parents who were Holocaust survivors, he remembers growing up in a happy house. “We were always singing, songs for Shabbat, songs for the holidays.”
Fisher's musical career
He did his military service singing in the IDF choir, and upon completion in 1973, traveled to Winnipeg, Canada for a friend’s wedding. After singing one of the Sheva Brachot he was asked by the president of the synagogue to serve as their cantor for the High Holidays.”
“The truth is, I was a bit hesitant,” he admitted. “I was set to return to Israel and begin studies to be a dentist. However, God has his mysterious ways and the invitation to be a cantor for the High Holidays changed my plans for life.”
“I want my shows to take place with joy. Joy is watching the faces of the thousands of people who smile and sing with me during my shows,” Fisher said. “Personal joy is working with my wife, Revital. She is my producer and manager who does “everything” to make the show a reality. In addition, sharing the stage with my very talented eight-year-old son, Shmichael (Shmuel Michael) is a joy in itself.”
“Additional important moments of happiness have been singing in Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden in New York; the Opera House in Sydney; and the Bolshoi theater in Moscow. It has been a great honor and joy to sing in the White House in front of American presidents and sing for the Queen of England in Buckingham Palace for a special, requested event.”
One event Fisher remembers as bringing special happiness was when he was the first Israeli artist to appear in Moscow before Glasnost.
“Thousands of Jews arranged to come to Tchaikovsky Hall for two shows on the same day. However, many could not get tickets. When I went to synagogue on Shabbat, people came to me and told me they did not have tickets. Therefore, I sang acappella for them a whole show in the synagogue.”
“I once asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe what to do about singing on Shabbat in productions on Broadway and the West End of London when I had the opportunity to star in shows like Les Misérables. He said to hold tight to my Judaism and my principles.”
“So I did, and Sir Cameron Mackintosh, the producer, gave me the opportunity to be on Broadway and London’s West End without playing on Friday nights, Saturday matinées, and Jewish holidays, which makes me very proud of being Jewish, proud of my heritage, and being a second generation to Holocaust survivors. I can imagine what it does for my ancestors in heaven.”
Fisher closed on a personal note: “This year,” he explains, “I have decided to stay in Israel for the High Holidays and not travel to another country as cantor. Instead, my son and I will lead a service based on liturgical music and non-liturgical music in Tel Aviv (venue to be decided) on the first day of Rosh Hashana.”