Tribute To Ofra Haza

825 Words4 Pages
Tribute to Ofra Haza by Titanya Monique Dahlin Hush now my baby, be still love dont cry, Sleep as youre rocked by lifes stream Dream and remember my last lullaby, So Ill be with you when you dream River, oh river, flow gently for me, Such precious cargo you bear Do you know somewhere we can be free? River, deliver us there These poignant words were perhaps Ofra Haza's last lullaby that we heard. Ofra sang the voice of Mose's mother in The Prince of Egypt. This angelic songstress was just starting to be recognized in American music for her incredible talent, though many of us in the Middle Eastern world of music already danced to her words and praised her soulful voice. Sadly for the world, Ofra died on Wednesday, February 23, 2000 at the age of 42. Ofra Haza was born in Israel into a Jewish-Yemenite family. She was the youngest of eight other brothers and sisters. Her family was financially poor, but musically rich in traditional culture and history. Her mother would sing with Ofra when she was little, which later, Ofra attributed to her own talent and success. At age 12, Ofra joined a theatre group in her little village of Tel Aviv Hatikvah. The founder of the group, Bezalel Aloni, immediately recognized her shining talent. From then on, he became her manager and remained loyal till the day she died. With the encouragement of Bezalel, Ofra accepted more opportunities and by the time she was 19, her solo career was on its way. In 1979, She became a bubblegum sensation with her first pop hit, The Tarts Song singing out about everything funny, flirtatious, consumerist. For Israel, her lyrics were about everything a young woman was not supposed to be, I wanna shout out loud, Im a Tart! and Israeli teenagers went wild. I can imagine, at the time, that it was the equivalent to Madonnas, Like a Virgin, song. Israel's

More about Tribute To Ofra Haza

Open Document