Ofra Haza is an Israeli legend, singer with a unique, angelic mezzo-soprano. She was called the "Madonna of the East" - this amazing woman combined incredible talent, external beauty, high moral principles and a rich spiritual world. There is no other such magical voice, as well as another such tragic fate, and cannot be.
Childhood and youth
An icon of Israeli popular music originally from Tel Aviv. Ofra came to this world in November 1957, in a poor and traditionally large family with nine children. Ofra became the youngest, the last child in the large Haza clan, living in the impoverished Hatikva quarter (translated as “Hope”).
At that time, the future manager of the singer, Bezalel Aloni, organized a theater studio nearby for talented youth. Haz's youngest daughter came to him at the age of twelve and simply shook Bezalel with her voice. He immediately made her the star of his performances.
At the age of 17, the gifted girl took part in a major singing festival, easily won the main prize and firmly decided that she would sing all her life. After serving in the army (women definitely serve in Israel), Ofra left the Aloni theater to come to grips with the education necessary for further creativity. Bezalel left after his talented pupil, becoming her agent and the author of many Ofra's songs.
The girl studied not only singing and dancing. She mastered several languages in order to address people all over the world with her songs, which, of course, became not superfluous in the further biography of the great singer.
Creative career
Ofra's first songs were written by her manager Bezalel, who helped the girl with the recording and advertising of her work. The first album was released in 1974 and was called Ahava Rishona. Soon, the unique singer was noticed - they began to invite her to television and to record songs for films. From 1980 to 1984 Ofra Haza became the "Singer of the Year" in Israel itself, and at the 1983 Eurovision festival, which was held in Germany, she won second place.
In 1985, an album was released that made Ofru Hazu famous all over the world. These were Yemenite Songs - a collection of songs based on the poems of an ancient Israeli poet. The album became a real hit in Europe. The collection Shaday, which combined the singer's gentle voice, rhythmic disco and traditional oriental melodies, thundered all over the world in 1988, becoming one of the most successful commercially. Songs from it sounded in every home in Europe and America.
In 1991, Ofra took part in the large-scale Musicians for Peace campaign, recording a video with John Lennon. Soon she appeared on stage and in videos along with the brightest stars of the popular scene. Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Dieter Bohlen - they all considered
honor to sing with the unique Ofra. And she released all the new collections that became gold and platinum. And at the same time, she was distinguished by almost defiant chastity and modesty against the background of other figures in show business.
Personal life
With such a rich professional life, the singer practically did not have time for a private life. But her numerous relatives constantly insisted that Ofra, as befits a decent woman, create a family and give birth to children. She herself already wanted peace and simple female happiness. Ofra allowed her family to choose a spouse for her, and soon she was introduced to Doron Ashkenazi. He long and very beautifully courted the star.
After the wedding, many things have changed in Ofra's life. Her husband began to control everything - from expenses and clothing, to touring and communicating with other people, forced her to fire the permanent Bezalel, who actively disliked Doron.
Ashkenazi proudly declared that he had acquired a real diamond and was not going to share his personal treasure with anyone. Ofra obeyed traditions and calmly accepted such an attitude of an energetic husband, not knowing that it was he who would become the cause of her tragic and early death. One thing upset the woman - she could not give birth to a child.
Death
Ofru Hazu seemed to be pursued by some evil fate. The first time she missed her death in 1987, when the small plane in which the singer went on tour crashed to the ground. Ofra escaped with minor injuries. The second known case occurred in 1994, when a monstrous lightning struck the aircraft where the singer was flying, but this time everything worked out.
After marriage, Ofra's main goal was a child. After a miscarriage, she went to the clinic, where she discovered that she was infected with HIV. She began a long and unsuccessful struggle with the disease, which was complicated by the fact that the singer tried in every possible way to hide her illness from others.
In early 2000, she caught a cold and on February 23 died of pneumonia, which was actively developing in an organism weakened by HIV. This was a huge tragedy for the whole world. The husband, who "rewarded" the brightest star with a disease, briefly survived Ofra, soon dying of an overdose.
Ofra Haza dreamed that humanity would be united, not divided by religions and disagreements, that all wars would one day end. All her life she tried to connect the most different cultures with her work. Songs always bring people together. What a pity that she was given so little time …
