America-Israel Cultural Foundation Concert (AICF) - Fall Concert

Shirit-Lee Weiss - Soprano, Guy Mannheim - Tenor,Natalie Tenenbaum - Piano
September 13, 2006

What do 'Fiddler on the Roof', 'The Merry Widow', Mozart's 'Il Re Pastore', and Beethoven's 'Fidelio' have in common? Each of these selections comprised part of the program on Wednesday evening the 13th of September's America-Israel Cultural Foundation concert. This year's annual concert at the Embassy of Israel featured Shirit-Lee Weiss (soprano), Guy Mannheim (tenor), and Natalie Tenenbaum (piano).

The performers delighted the attendees of a packed Jerusalem Hall with their interactive chemistry, expression of emotion, and sincere joy of performing. The performance concluded with two encores, the finale being Hatikvah.

Shirit-Lee Weiss - Soprano

Israeli Soprano Shirit-Lee Weiss, still in her mid-twenties, has already achieved recognition in such diverse performance areas as opera, musical theater, contemporary music and lieder. In Israel, Ms. Weiss appears regularly in the contemporary music group, Musica Nova. She has a special interest in new works by young composers, and several sets of lieder have been written specifically for her, including Songs to texts from Alice in Wonderland by Matan Porat and Songs on texts of Yonah Wolach by Arie Ben-Kenaz. She gave the world premier performance at the Tel Aviv Museum of Ron Weidberg's song cycle, Because….In 2004 she performed the operatic scene "the moment is long" by Noam Sivan in the Graduate Center, NYC, and also premiered with an original piece for soprano "the Orange felt dress" by Peter Kirn with the Contempo Music Ensamble. Ms. Weiss played in Hanoch Levin's award-winning play The Tear-shedders, produced by Israel's "Kameri" theatre. Her interest in musical theater also encompasses its lighter side, and she enjoys presenting evenings of Broadway highlights with works by Bernstein, Sondheim, Weill and Gershwin. She also enjoys working on children's theater productions. Ms. Weiss has taken part in Orchestral Opera performances, including Anna in Die Sieben Tods?nden and Erste Dame in Die Zauberfl?te and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Among the other roles she has presented are Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Elettra (Idomeneo), Cunegonde (Candide), Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte), and Echo (Ariadna auf Naxus). In April 2002 she has participated in a fully staged production of Pierrot Lunaire at the Schoenberg Festival in Tel Aviv. She took part in the IVAI International Opera Workshop in Tel Aviv.

Ms. Weiss is a graduate of the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv, where she received the "excellent achievement in music performances" award, and received a Master degree from Brooklyn College under Olga Makarena. Ms. Weiss is now a student of Ms. Vivian Mordo. Her stage training at Israel's national theater, "Habima", has seen her progress from young actress to assistant director for youth productions, and finally to drama teacher.

Guy Mannheim - Tenor

Guy Mannheim was born in Israel in 1977. He is graduated of Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts. Studied acting in the Theatre department at the Tel-Aviv University, BA with distinction. Studied at the Rubin Academy of music in Tel- Aviv, and with Richard Barrett and William Schumann in New York and Wolfgang Millgram in Berlin. A regular participant of the Israel Vocal Arts Institute`s opera programs. Sang in Master Classes in Israel and abroad, with Verena Keller, Paul Sperry and Hilde Zadeck. He won the Laubach Prize at the International Hans Gabor Belveder Singing Competition in Vienna.
Mr. Mannheim performed in the Beit Lessin Theatre in "GOOD", and in the Musical "My Fair Lady". He preformed as a singer in concerts and recitals in Israel and Germany including solo parts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israeli Sinfonietta Beer-Sheva and the New York Chamber Opera.. In the Israeli Opera sang Joe in "La Fanciulla del West", Cascada in "Die Lustige Witwe" and the Rooster and Teacher in
Shohat`s 'Max and Moritz". In the coming season Mr. Mannheim will sing Valzacchi in "Rosenkavalier" and Monostatos in s "The Magic Flute" with the Israeli Opera, as well as Concerts with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. He will sing under the Batons of Meastro Asher Fisch and Maestro Dan Ettinger.

Guy Mannheim received the America-Israel Culture Foundation scholarships for acting and singing since 2000, as well as scholarships from the IVAI and the Ronen Foundation. He also won a special scholarship from the AICF for Opera studies abroad.

Natalie Tenenbaum - piano
Israeli pianist Natalie Tenenbaun was born in 1984. She is a current scholarship student at the Juilliard School, expected to graduate from the undergrad program in 2007. Ms. Tenenbaum studied in Israel and graduated cum laude from the Thelma Yellin high school of the arts. She is an avid performer of solo and chamber music, and has performed in many concerts and master classes in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem Music Center, New York Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. She is a recipient of scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and the Ronen Foundation.
In addition to Classical Music, Natalie is also a jazz pianist and has attended full-scholarship programs such as the Berklee Summer Performance Program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, in the years 1999 and 2001.
Program

Jetzt Sch?tchen, jetzt sind wir allein (Jaquino and Marcelina) from Fidelio, Beethoven.

D`oreste d` Ajace (Elettra) from Idomeneo, Mozart.

Sol Puo dir come si trova (Agenore), from Il Re Pastore, Mozart.

O Liebliche Wangen, Brahms.

Kaddish, Ravel

C?arda? (Rosalinda), from Die Fledermaus, J. Strauss.

Komm, Zigany! (Tassilo), from Gr?fin Mariza, Kalman.

Lippen Schweigen (Danilo and Hanna), from The Merry Widow, Lehar.

The little things we do together from Company, Sondheim.

Glitter and be Gay (Cunegonde), from Candide, Bernstein.

If I were a rich man (Tebye), from Fiddler on the Roof, Bock.

Oh, Happy we! , from Candide, Bernstein.