Mira Zakai (‎; 21 September 1942 – 20 May 2019) was an Israeli

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

. Zakai was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

as Mira Koigen, the daughter of George Koigen and his wife Eva (née Patai). She studied at the

University of Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and research of the ci ...

, initially in the Faculty of Humanities, and later at the Rubin Academy of Music, graduating in 1976. She married Jacob Zakai and they had two daughters. Zakai made many appearances with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, with the Israeli Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic (

Mehta Mehta () is an Indian surname, derived from the Sanskrit word ''mahita'' meaning 'great' or 'praised'. It is found among several Indian religious groups, including Hindus, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs. Among Hindus, it is used by a wide range of castes ...

, Leinsdorf), the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

, and others. She appeared with

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

in a concert at

Castel Gandolfo Castel Gandolfo (, , ; ), colloquially known as Castello in the '' Castelli Romani'' dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome, in the Italian region of Lazio. Situated on a hilltop in the Alban Hills with panoramic views of Lake Albano, Cast ...

for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, having previously appeared at Menuhin's festival as a soloist in Bach's '' Mass in B minor''. Her 1982 recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

won the Grammy for Best Overall Classical Recording at the

1982 awards __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 fo ...

. Zakai gave Lieder Recitals in venues such as the

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...

in New York, as well as Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Moskva, St. Peterburg, Brussels, Antwerp, Montreal and Glasgow, where she also made her international opera debut with Scottish Opera alternating performances with Dame

Janet Baker Dame Janet Abbott Baker (born 21 August 1933) is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.Blyth, Alan, "Baker, Dame Janet (Abbott)" in Sadie, Stanley, ed.; John Tyrell; exec. ed. (2001). ''New Grove Dictionar ...

as Orfeo in Gluck's ''

Orfeo ed Euridice (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...

''. She played a wide range of roles, from Prince Orlovsky to Ulrica and Erda. Zakai's many recordings included Mahler's Resurrection Symphony with

and

Sir Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

hich won a "Grammy" award "Boris Gudonov" and "War and Peace" with

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

. "Moses and Ahron" with Solti and Chicago,"Midnight Vigil" . Seterwith Bertini and the IPO as well as many solo recitals—Israeli Songs, Ladino songs, a collection of songs by poets who perished in the Holocoust - composed by Norbert Glanzberg, the famous chansoniere or Beth Hatfutsot A recital of songs by Schumann Ravel Honneger Werfel Sevenent d. R Gaii - Belgium For Koch int. She recorded a recital of Mahler,Webern,Berg songs with the pianist Jonathan Zak—joined for Ravels" Chancones Madecasses" and Handels "Mi Palpita il Core"—by M. Haran, A. Biron and Shalev Ad El. For her special contribution to Israeli music, Zakai received the Composers and Playwrights association award CUM In 1990 Zakai won the Arts and Culture Council prize for best performance of Israeli compositions. In honour of Israel's 50th anniversary she received a special award for her dedication,contribution,inspiration and performance of Israeli contemporary music from the minister of culture and education. In 1997, Zakai moved into teaching, becoming a professor at the

Buchmann-Mehta School of Music The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music (BMSM) is an institute of higher education in Tel Aviv, Israel. The school is a part of the Faculty of the Arts of Tel Aviv University and is operated in collaboration with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO). ...

. teaching voice, Oratorio and Lied.

References

External links

Frank Villella, "Remembering Mira Zakai". Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 'Sounds and Stories' blog, 28 May 2019

Zakai's Webpage at Tel Aviv University: https://www.tau.ac.il/~mzakai/

Mira Zakai's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOWqXsyJnhys28AbNl70ltw

Contralto Corner blog, "Mira Zakai: 21 September 1942 – 20 May 2019"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakai, Mira 1942 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Israeli women opera singers Operatic contraltos Musicians from Jerusalem Burials at Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery