Rita Kleinstein

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Rita

Background information
Birth name Rita Yahan Farouz
Born March 24, 1962 (1962-03-24) (age 46)
Origin Flag of Iran Tehran, Iran
Genre(s) Pop
Folk
Occupation(s) Singer, Actress
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 1986-present
Label(s) Helicon, Kna'an

Rita Kleinstein (Hebrew: ריטה קלינשטיין‎, born Rita Yahan-Farouz on March 24, 1962 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian/Israeli singer and actress.

Contents

[edit] Musical and Acting Career

Rita began her career in 1980 as part of a musical troop in the Israeli Army. In 1982 She attended the "Beit Zvi" school of acting. Her first exposure to the general public in Israel was at the 1986 Pre-Eurovision Song Contest (known as the Kdam-Eurovision), which decided who would represent Israel in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. Rita did not win, but her song, along with her provocative performance garnered much interest. That same year Rita starred in an adaptation of My Fair Lady and released her self-titled debut album, Rita, which went triple platinum, selling over 120,000 copies.

In 1988 Rita released her second album, Yemei Ha'Tom (Days of Innocence), which was produced by her husband Rami Kleinstein, which included a song by the noted Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin. In 1990 Rita finally got her chance to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song Shara Barkhovot (Singing in the Streets), but only got to the 18th place. After a brief hiatus Rita returned in 1994 with her third album, Ahava Gedola (Big Love), which was also successful and led to a three-year tour around the country. Tahanot Bazman (Stations in Time) was released in 1996, consisting mainly of previously unreleased materials.

In 1998 Rita was invited to sing the Israeli national Anthem Hatikvah (The Hope) as part of Israel's jubilee celebration Paamonei ha'yovel (The Jubilee Bells). There was a minor uproar concerning the amount of money she would be paid, which seemed exorbitant to some, but she was finally convinced to perform, following a call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She reportedly gave the money she earned to charity.

In 1999 Rita released Tiftah Halon (Open a Window) which was also a great success, followed by Hamtzam (oxygen) in 2003 which was less successful. In 2004 Rita played the role of Roxie Hart in an adaptation of Chicago for the Beit Leisin Theater.[1]

In 2006 Rita put on a new show called One (in English) which ran for a month at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center. Directed by Hanoch Rozen, it was a lavish affair including lasers, flamethrowers, 3-D images, smoke machines and forty dancers, acrobats, and actors. Over 100,000 tickets were sold.

[edit] Personal life

Rita is married to the popular pianist, composer, and singer Rami Kleinstein, with whom she has two daughters - Meshi and Noam. The couple performed together in 2001. On September 3, 2007, however, it was announced that Rita and Rami were separating.

[edit] Discography

Year Album Translation Israel Certificate
1985 Rita 4x Platinum
1987 Breaking Those Walls Gold
1988 Yamey Ha-Tom The Days of Innocence 5x Gold
1994 Ahava Gdola A Great Love 4x Platinum
1996 Tahanot BaZman Stages in Time 2x Platinum
1999 Tiftah Halon Open a Window 2x Platinum
2000 Time for Peace Gold
2001 Rita & Rami Live 5x Gold
2003 Hamtsan Oxygen Gold
2005 One Live Gold
2008 Remazim Clues Platinum Total sales: ~800,000

[edit] References

[edit] External links