Esther Zaied, better known by her married name Esther Ofarim (; born June 13, 1941), is an Israeli singer. She came second in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " T'en va pas", representing Switzerland. After marrying Abi Ofarim in 1958, she was half of the husband-and-wife

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

duo

Esther & Abi Ofarim Esther & Abi Ofarim were an Israeli musical duo active during the 1960s, consisting of husband and wife Abi Ofarim and Esther Ofarim. They enjoyed particular success in Germany. They had hits in Europe with their songs "One More Dance," "Morning ...

in the 1960s. After the couple divorced, she undertook a successful solo career.

Life and career

Beginnings

Esther Zaied was born in

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

to a

Syrian Jewish Syrian Jews ( ''Yehudey Surya'', ''al-Yahūd as-Sūriyyūn'', colloquially called SYs in the United States) are Jews who live in the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin ...

family. She began performing as a child, singing

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and international

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

s. In 1958, Esther met Abi Ofarim, a guitarist and dancer, who she later married. She was a student in his dance studio in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. Esther served four months in the

Israeli Army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...

before she was discharged owing to her marriage to Abi. American director

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

cast Esther for a small role in the film ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

'' (1960). In 1960, Esther landed the role of Katzia in the play ''The Legend of Three and Four'' at the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...

. In 1961, she won first at Israel's first pop song festival in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, where she sang "Saëni Imchá Bemachol" (Take Me with You When You Dance) and "Naamah", written by Pnina and Tsvi Avni, accompanied by

Kol Yisrael ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' (, lit. "Voice of Israel"; also Israel Radio) was Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, and later the Israel ...

orchestra under

Gary Bertini Gary Bertini (; May 1, 1927 – March 17, 2005) was one of the most important Israeli musicians and conductors. In 1978 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Music. Biography Gary Bertini was born ''Shloyme Golergant'' in Bricheva, Bessarabia, th ...

. In 1962, Esther released her self-titled debut solo album and was invited to join Frank Sinatra in his performances in Israel.

radio then sent her to the

Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...

in Poland. She came in second place for singing "Stav", written by

Moshe Wilensky Moshe Wilensky (, also, "Vilensky"; 17 April 1910 – 2 January 1997) was a Polish-Israeli composer, lyricist, and pianist. He is considered a "pioneer of Israeli song" and one of Israel's leading composers, and was a winner of the Israel Prize, ...

and Shimshon Halfi.

Eurovision 1963

Esther and Abi settled in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland, where she took part in the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

representing

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

with the song "'' T'en va pas''". In a very close and controversial competition with the Danish duo Grethe and

Jørgen Ingmann Jørgen Ingmann (born Jørgen Ingmann Pedersen; 26 April 1925 – 21 March 2015) was a Danish jazz and pop guitarist from Copenhagen. He was popular in Europe and had a wider international hit in 1961 with his version of "Apache". He and his w ...

, her song placed second. Initially it appeared Switzerland had won the contest with 42 points to Denmark's 40, but after an apparent change to the Norwegian scores, Ofarim ended up with 40 points, as opposed to 42 points for "

Dansevise "" (; ) is a song recorded by Danish husband and wife duo Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann with music composed by Otto Francker and Danish lyrics written by Sejr Volmer-Sørensen. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 held in London, resulting the ...

", a reversal of the initial result. "''T'en va pas''" was released as single on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

in 1963, reaching No. 39 in Germany. In 1963, Esther had a starring role in the German film ''Es war mir ein Vergnügen''.

Esther & Abi Ofarim

In 1963 and 1964, Esther and Abi had success on the charts in Europe. In the fall of 1964, Esther embarked on a tour of the United States with the

Smothers Brothers The Smothers Brothers were the American duo of brothers Tom Smothers, Tom and Dick Smothers, who performed folk singer, folk singing, music, and comedy. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on Steel-string guitar, a ...

. Speaking about a performance at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

, Jim Albright, campus correspondent, stated: "Everyone expected the Smother Brothers to be great, but Ester 'sic''turned out to be fabulous ... people were amazed with her singing and her looks." By 1965, Esther was well known throughout Europe. She headlined in the major concert halls and theaters. She starred in German films and had her own television specials on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...

. In 1966, Abi and Ofarim had their first hit with "Noch einen Tanz", an English version of which, "

One More Dance "One More Dance" is a song written by C. C. Carter. It is a satirical song about cynical lovers. It was first recorded by South African singer Miriam Makeba with Charles Colman for her debut album '' Miriam Makeba'' (1960). Makeba performed the ...

", was a hit in the UK two years later, peaking at No. 13. Their greatest success in Germany was in 1967 with "

Morning of My Life Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and n ...

", which was written by the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

. In 1968 " Cinderella Rockefella" hit the top of the

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

in a number of countries including the UK. They performed live concerts in New York City and London, and they toured Europe before separating in 1969.

Solo career

Esther began recording as a solo artist in the early 1960s. She often sang in different languages. In 1967, she recorded, Esther im Kinderland, in which she sang 20

children's song A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studie ...

s from eight countries in six different languages. After her divorce from Abi, she continued performing and released several albums. On 25 February 1970, she co-starred in her own BBC television special ''

The Young Generation Douglas William Squires (16 February 1932 – 21 May 2023) was an English choreographer, known best for his work in television from the mid-1950s. He was born in Nottingham. Squires died on 21 May 2023, at the age of 91. Choreography The group ...

Meet Esther Ofarim'' broadcast on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

. Later that year, she sang "Long About Now" on Scott Walker's album Til the Band Comes In.'' In 1982, she released the album ''Complicated Ladies'' on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

with Eberhard Schoener, Wolf Wondratschek, and

Ulf Miehe Ulf Miehe (11 May 1940 – 13 July 1989) was a German screenwriter and film director. His 1975 film ''John Glückstadt'' was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected filmography * ''Jaider, der einsame Jäger'' (19 ...

. In 1984, she played in

Joshua Sobol Yehoshua Sobol, sometimes written Joshua Sobol (; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director. Biography Yehoshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father' ...

's play ''

Ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

'', produced by

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Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. There she sang songs including "Frühling" and "Unter deinen weissen Sternen". Her songs were featured in the 2004 Israeli film, '' Walk on Water''.

Personal life

At the age of 17, Esther married Abi Ofarim on December 11, 1958. They separated in 1969, and their divorce was finalized in Germany in November 1970. Esther later married assistant television director Philipp von Sell, who is 18 years her junior. They had a son, David von Sell, born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1983. Esther and Philipp divorced when David was nine. David is a musician, he attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Accolades

In 1965, Esther won an

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

at the

Grand Gala du Disque The Grand Gala du Disque was an annual Dutch gala sponsored by local record companies. There were two separate events, the Grand Gala du Disque Classique for classical music and the Grand Gala du Disque Populaire for popular music. The Grand Gala d ...

in Holland. One year later, she was voted Germany's best female singer.

Discography

Duo albums with Abi

* 1961 : ''Ha Ofarim (The Does)'' (Israphon AP 201) * 1962 : ''Mousar Adin (Foibles and Fables)'' (Israphon AP 210) * 1963 : ''Esther Ofarim and Abraham (Songs der Welt)'' (Philips B48051L-840458BY-840438PY-PHM200102-PHS600102) * 1964 : ''Melodie einer Nacht'' (Philips P48104L) * 1965 : ''That’s Our Song (Neue Songs der Welt)'' (Philips BL7698-652204BL-843750PY, Litratone 12135MS) * 1966 : ''Noch einen Tanz'' (Philips 843775PY) * 1966 : ''Sing Hallelujah (Das Neue Ofarim Album)'' (Philips BL7757-P48141L-843920PY, Litratone 12134 MS) * 1967 : ''2 in 3 (GER-UK-ESP-ISR)'' (Philips 838807JY-620209JL-620210JL, Phonodor 13004) * 1967 : ''Cinderella-Rockefella (FR)'' (Philips 844301BY) * 1967 : ''Cinderella-Rockefella (USA)'' (Philips PHS600269) * 1968 : ''Up To Date (GER-UK-ISR)'' (Philips 838808JY, Phonodor 12196) * 1969 : ''Ofarim Konzert-Live 1969 (GER)'' (Philips H72AM201) * 1969 : ''Ofarim Concert-Live 1969 (UK)'' (Philips 88422DY) * 1969 : ''Ofarim Concert-Live (USA)'' (Philips PHS600330) * 1972 : ''Rak Ivrit (Hebrew Only)'' (Phonodor 13034)

Solo albums

* 1962 : ''Bechireï Moshe Wilensky (4 Wilensky Songs, as Esther Reichstat)'' (Israphon EP 109) * 1962 : ''Bechireï Yeladim (Children Songs, as Esther Reichstat)'' (Israphon AP 211) * 1962 : ''Hayu Leylot (Those Were The Nights, as Esther Reichstat)'' (Israphon AP 303) * 1963 : ''Esther In Geneva'' (published on CD in 2012, Bear Family Records BCD 17307 AH) * 1965 : ''Esther Ofarim : American Folk Songs in French'' (Philips P 48.131 L) * 1965 : ''Is It Really Me!'' (Philips PHS 600–185) * 1967 : ''Esther Im Kinderland'' (Philips 843 995 PY) * 1969 : ''Esther Ofarim : The Pink Album, Folk Songs'' (Philips PHS 600–343) * 1972 : ''Un Prince en Avignon'' (Philips ST 6-303-063, compilation of songs in french) * 1972 : ''Esther : The Green Album, Ladino and French Ancient Songs'' (CBS-EMI-HÖRZU SHZE 367) * 1972 : ''Esther Ofarim : American Folk Songs'' (EMI-Columbia-BASF C062-05-178) * 1973 : ''Esther Ofarim : Songs in French'' (EMI-Pathé C064-05287) * 1973 : ''Live in Tel-Aviv'' (Hed Arzi BAN 14317) * 1977 : ''In Concert in Tel-Aviv'' (Hed Arzi 64001, published in 1999, Emergo in 2001) * 1981 : ''Time Square : guest of Eberhard Schoener'' * 1982 : ''Esther Ofarim : The White Album, Poems and Cantics'' (Hed Arzi BAN 14983) * 1982 : ''Complicated Ladies'' (Mercury) * 1988 : ''Hayu Lailot'' (revival on CD of 1962's Hayu Leylot) * 1988 : ''In Concert in Tel-Aviv'' (Hed Arzi 64001, published in 1999) * 2005 : ''Back On Stage : Live in Hannover 2003'' (Tropical Music) * 2006 : ''In New York, with Bobby Scott orchestra'' (Bureau B, revival of Philips-1965's Is It Really Me) * 2009 : ''In London, prod Bob Johnston'' (Bureau B, revival of EMI-1972's Folk Songs) * 2009 : ''I'll See You In My Dreams: Live in Hamburg 2009'' (Tropical Music) * 2011 : ''Le Chant des Chants'' (Bear Family BCD 17210 AH, revival of EMI-Pathé 1973's Songs in French) * 2012 : ''Esther In Geneva'' (see in 1963)

Charted singles

Esther and Abi Ofarim

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ofarim, Esther 1941 births Living people Jews from Mandatory Palestine 21st-century Israeli women singers Israeli people of Syrian-Jewish descent 20th-century Israeli women singers Jewish Israeli musicians Jewish women singers German-language singers of Israel People from Safed Israeli female military personnel Philips Records artists EMI Records artists Eurovision Song Contest entrants