Oren Lavie
Oren Lavie (born 1976 in Tel Aviv) is a singer, songwriter, playwright, and theatre director. His music video of "Her Morning Elegance" has come in to recent popularity [1].
Biography
Oren Lavie spent his youth in Israel.[2] In 1997 his play Sticks and Wheels and his production of it were awarded the main prizes at the Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre. The production played in Tel Aviv during 1998.[3] In that year he went to London to study theatre directing at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[4] After his graduation two of his plays were produced in various London theatres. They already contained several songs written and composed by him.
In 2001 Oren Lavie moved to New York where he tried to make a living by means of various jobs and where he focused on writing songs. When they had piled up he went to Berlin (2003) and started to do recordings, working as his own producer. His first album, The Opposite Side of the Sea, was completed in 2006; it was released in Europe in January and February 2007. In 2009, his stop motion style music video, "Her Morning Elegance," achieved significant popularity on YouTube,[5] receiving over 5 million hits.
Oren Lavie names his musical predecessors as Tom Waits, Jacques Brel, and Leonard Cohen.[2] At the core of his melody-oriented compositions there is always the piano or the guitar with his singing, enriched by string arrangements (cello solo, quartet, chamber orchestra) and various, mainly non-electronical instruments added occasionally, giving each of the songs a unique style and color.
Dramatic works
- 1997 - Sticks and Wheels (Première: Acco Festival, Israel)
- 1999 - Lighting the Day (Première: Bridewell Theatre, London Stage Company)
- 2000 - Bridges and Harmonies (Première: Bridewell Theatre, London Stage Company)
- 2006 - The Empty Princess, German: Die Prinzessin mit dem Loch im Bauch (Première: 2007-05-25 at Staatstheater Oldenburg)
The first three listed productions were directed by Oren Lavie.
Discography
- 2008 - The song "A Dance ‘Round the Memory Tree" on the soundtrack The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
- 2009 (March 10) - "The Opposite Side of the Sea"
References
- ^ " Digg
- ^ a b Internet presentation of BBIsland (agents of the artist)
- ^ MCC Playwrights Coalition, New York
- ^ Review of the première of "Bridges and Harmonies", Ian Shuttleworth, website of the author; written for The Financial Times, 11/2000
- ^ "Her Morning Elegance" on YouTube
External links
- Official website of "The Opposite Side of the Sea"
- Website (MySpace) of Oren Lavie
- Review of "The Opposite Side of the Sea", Katie Probert (on Subba Cultcha, 2007/02/05)
- Oren Lavie on Channel One News