| Biography | David 'Dudu' Fisher (born 18 November 1951) is an Israeli cantor and stage performer.He is known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Misérables.
He began studying at age 22, after the Yom Kippur War and his discharge from the army following three years of service.
Fisher studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, and studied privately under cantor Shlomo Ravitz. He then took up the cantorial position at the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv, followed by four years in South Africa. For over 20 years, Fisher was the cantor at Kutsher's Hotel in the Catskills during the Jewish high holidays. In 2005, Fisher became the Chief Cantor of New York Synagogue.
Les Miserables[edit]After being mesmerised by the London performance of the 1980s hit musical, Fisher, despite no prior acting experience, requested the part in a Hebrew production of Les Misérables. He played its leading role, Jean Valjean, in Israel from 1987 to 1990, and made local fame.
He played the role on New York's Broadway during the winter of 1993-1994, and later at London's West End, where he was invited to perform before Queen Elizabeth II. At both venues, Fisher was the first performer excused from Friday night and Saturday performances, as he is an Orthodox Jew and was not able to perform because of the Sabbath.
Among Fisher's other performances is his one-man Off-Broadway show, Never on Friday, an anecdotal work exploring the complications of his experience on Broadway as an observant Jew. He performed in many tours around Israel, the United States, and the world, particularly in Jewish communities, performing classics, as well as musicals, such as Over the Rainbow which toured Israel with Fisher performing 40 Broadway show tunes.
He performed for United States President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, for Britain's Royal family, and for the Thai Royal family.
Fisher has also performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, with a performance televised in France, and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Queens Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded an album of show tunes with the London Symphony Orchestra. He was the first Israeli artist allowed to sing in the Soviet Union before perestroika.
In May 2009, Fisher sang along with contratenor David D'Or for Pope Benedict XVI as the pope visited Israel |