Sicilian love songs in opera style - White Night @ Tel Aviv

Last night was the "White Night" - Tel Aviv's all night celebration. So we went out to sample the events mostly looking for music. A few restaurants offered the special 78 shekel dinner but being all over town, we decided to stay close to the tayelet area. We ended up having a great meal at the Goocha on Ben Gurion and Dizengoff. Then we set off to explore the music. The exciting thing of going out in search of something without a plan, is finding something that you wouldn't be looking for. We certainly found this in a fantastic performance of Italian popular songs by an Israeli Opera singer. He was backed up by non-less a Russian quartet: an accordion, two balalaikas, and a base guitar. The sound could not have been better. The stage was set up next to the Sheraton hotel just above Gordon beach. This area used to be a big Israeli folk dancing stage years ago before the intifadas, when the tourists use to come to the beach and dance all night, but the area has been neglected until now. Luckily Tel Aviv city hall is cleaning and renovating the area once again. There are certainly less tourists to dance, but that does not mean that Tel Avivians can't enjoy this wonderful spot.

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Israel Opera soloist singing Sicilian pop songs in opera style: bravo! fantastico!
OK, back to the music. This opera singer and four musicians gave a two hour performance of non-stop Italian hits and the crowd was mesmerized. Talking about a pleasant surprise. First of all the sound was amazing. The setup was a little tricky since there are two bars in the area, but it worked fine. The opera singing together with popular Italian tunes is a wonderful combination. I think that most of the people were not only surprised but also didn't imagine how nice it is to sit by the water on a warm night and be literally serenaded. Now I can understand why Italians really don't have competition in the romance category. They simply put their heart into this and it comes out in music. You can say whatever you want about Opera and Italian music, but you can't beat their love songs. Once again Tel Aviv surprises and delights, if you missed the "White Night" - put it on your calender, because next year will certainly be another delightful surprise!