Amalia Ishak, Soprano
"A singer of outstanding quality, her musicality and versatility are extraordinary". Leonard Bernstein.
Amalia Ishak was born in Israel and raised in Italy. She began her music studies at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, and graduated with a Master of Music Degree Magna Cum Laude from Tel Aviv University. Continued her training in the Scuola di Muscia di Fiesole opera workshop with Claudio Desderi. She won a merit award at the Firenze Lirica competition.
Amalia Ishak made her debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the Ponnelle/Mehta production of Carmen. She appeared again with the Philharmonic in La Traviata, The Magic Flute (directed by Jonathan Miller) under the baton of Zubin Mehta, and in De Falla's The Three Cornered Hat under Charles Dutoit. She has also performed in the Philharmonic youth concerts conducted by Arie Vardi.
Amalia Ishak has enjoyed brilliant success and received critical acclaim in numerous productions of the Israeli Opera, including The Marriage of Figaro, The Little Magic Flute, The Medium (conducted by Asher Fisch and directed by Hy Kalus), as Hansel in the televised Hansel and Gretel (under Mendi Rodan and directed by Rina Yerushalmi), Faust, Don Giovanni (with Gary Bertini and directed by Graham Vick), The Barber of Seville (conducted by Steven Sloane and directed by Dario Fo), La Cenerentola (under Alberto Zedda and director Giancarlo del Monaco), L'Italiana in Algeri (with conductor Dan Ettinger and director Omri Nitzan), and in The Israeli Opera's first community opera projects in Hebrew: as Carmen in Carmen in Tel Aviv - an enormous success that was followed by a documentary film, and as Rosina in The Barber of HaTikvah.
Among her many concert tours as a member of the Jerusalem Lyric Trio, are special venues with the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland, the Budapest Spring Festival and the Gasteig, Munich, in a live program of the Deutscher Rundfunk.
A great honor in Amalia Ishak's career was to be personally selected by the late Leonard Bernstein to perform the world premiere of his piece, Arias and Barcarolles, in Israel and later in the U.K. She was described by the Maestro as "A singer of outstanding quality, her musicality and versatility are extraordinary".
Another highlight of Amalia Ishak's career was her highly praised interpretation of Goffredo Petrassi's Magnificat at the Rome Opera House, in the composer's presence. Maestro Petrassi, deeply impressed, added a special dedication: "To Amalia, a superb interpreter".
A former singer of the IDF Orchestra under the baton of the legendary Itzhak "Ziko" Graziani, Amalia Ishak sings a very rich repertoire and often performs world premieres of celebrated Israeli and international composers, among them are Gil Shohat, Josef Bardanashvili, Aharon Harlap, Max Stern, Moshe Zorman, Eyal Bat and many more, with numerous pieces dedicated to her.
She has been invited to perform as guest artist with leading orchestras in Israel and abroad, as well as in chamber music concerts and worldwide festivals, including the Israel Festival. She has also recorded for radio and television broadcasts in Israel, Europe and America.
In 2009 Amalia Ishak has joined the Buchmann - Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University, adjunct faculty as visiting professor for diction and phonetics and in 2012 as language coach in the production of W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni.
She has also judged in international singing competitions.
Recently, Amalia Ishak sung Donna Elvira in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Israel Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra under Maestro Amos Talmon.