David D'Or

David D'Or (דוד ד'אור; born David Nehaisi on October 2, 1965) is an Israeli singer, composer, and songwriter.

A countertenor with a vocal range of more than four octaves, he is a three-time winner of the Israeli "Singer of the Year" and "Best Vocal Performer" awards.

During his three years of military service, D'Or served as a singer in the Israeli Military Band, and in 1985–86 he was in the Israeli Army Central Command troops entertainment group, and took part in the record Be'sha'araikh Yerikho.

Though thankful for the opportunity, and sensitive to Israel's need to have an army to defend itself, D'Or felt that music and the army didn't mesh well together, and viewed his years in the army as a difficult period in terms of his musical development.

D'Or is married to Pazit, formerly a jewelry designer and now his manager.

They met as high school students in Bat Yam.

They have two children and reside in the Israeli town of Savyon near Tel Aviv.

After his army service, D'Or and two army colleagues (Benny Nadler and Rivi Ben-Basht) formed a trio named HaShlishiya (the "Threesome"), but it disbanded after just one single.

A few months later he formed another group, named Kav 4 ("Fourth Chord"), but it disbanded before completing its inaugural album.

At the same time he was invited by the Israeli National Theater ("Habima Theater") to be in various performances, among them "Blood Marriage", "Cabaret", "Cry the Beloved Country (music by Kurt Weill)", and "Tartuffe (music by Giya Kancheli)."

D’Or performed at the Habima Theater for four years, during which time he received outstanding reviews, such as Maariv's review of Cry the Beloved Country: "D'or's outstanding voice is meant for great parts. His voice and presence embraces the audience, who showed their appreciation by a lengthy standing ovation".

He was at the same time professionally trained, and tutored by Soprano Miriam Melzer, from 1987 to 1990 at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, from which he graduated.

In 1991, D'Or was accepted into and enrolled in the classical music department of the Jerusalem Conservatory.

That year D'Or also began his musical career as a classical tenor.

Zubin Mehta, music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, heard D'Or sing and invited him to perform as soloist in "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff, performing in a series of concerts all over the country.

Yediot Achronot reviewed his performance, writing: "David D’Or is a contra tenor with tone, colour and exceptional style well beyond other soloists".

In 1992, D’Or released his first album entitled David D'Or.

It included hit song "Yad Anuga", also known as "Yad Agunah" ("Gentle Hand", or "Tender Hand"), which was remixed by Nelson "Paradise" Roman and Bump, produced by Ofer Meiri and Yehudit Ravitz, released as a vinyl 12-inch single by Big Beat Records and Magnet Records, and reached # 3 in the most frequently played charts in Great Britain.

His second album, Be'govah Mishtane ("Changing Altitudes", or "Changing Heights"), released January 1, 1993, included the song "Ani Af" ("I Fly", or "I am Flying"), and what was to become an iconic Israeli song, "Tishmor al HaOlam Yeled" ("Watch Over the World, Child", or "Protect Our World, Child").

The latter song was subsequently covered by Liel Kolet and Scorpions' singer Klaus Meine, as well as by Shuly Nathan.

The CD consisting mostly of songs composed by D'Or was even more successful than its predecessor and went platinum.

Globus reviewed the album and wrote the following: "In an age in which it seems that a good voice is not particularly necessary to be a singer, David D'Or comes along and reminds anyone who had forgotten that not only can things be different, they need to be different. Simply put, D'Or sings beautifully and knows how to choose songs that fit his unique voice...One has to credit him for fulfilling his mission with bravura; his voice on stage sounds as good and convincing as it does in the recording studio. The wide variety of styles that he incorporates in his music, along with his superb vocal ability, allows him to appeal to adults and youths alike."

Later in 1993, D'Or participated in the televised competition to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest (Kdam Erovizion), with his song "Parpar," and came in fourth place.

Side by side with his classical education, D'Or was drawn to ethnic music.

He also joined Dudu Fisher, Meir Banai, and Eran Zur in the song "Lisa" on the 1994 album "Radio Blah-Blah" by the Israeli band "The Friends of Natasha".

This interest led him in 1995 to record with Moroccan Israeli Shlomo Bar and the band "Habrera Hativit" ("The Natural Gathering", "Natural Choice", or "Natural Selection"; composed of ethnic musicians) and release a popular new album, David & Shlomo (also known as David and Salomon).

Maariv reviewed the album, writing: "The Duet of David and Shlomo is wonderful and stunning."

In 1995, as Israel and the Holy See had just established political relations, D'Or also received an invitation from the Vatican to perform for Pope John Paul II.

His repertoire at this concert, which was broadcast worldwide and received enthusiastic reviews, united original ethnic music with European classics, and included a song D'Or composed specifically for the Pope in both Hebrew and Italian.

He was the first Israeli singer to sing in Hebrew for the Pope.

After he performed for the Pope ("He held my hand and gave me his blessing", D'Or said. "I just kept thinking: 'Here I am, little David from Israel, singing in Hebrew...It was a very powerful thing.'"), D'Or was invited to perform in Italy, where he appeared on TV shows such as Maurizio Costanzo on Channel 1, and Paulo Limiti on Channel 2.

He was also chosen to represent Israel in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, at which he placed 11th in the semi-final.

By February 2008, nine of his albums had gone platinum.

D'Or performs a wide variety of music, including pop, rock, dance, folk, klezmer, Yemenite prayers, holy music, ancient chants, classical, opera, and baroque arias (in the original Italian).

David D'Or was born in Holon, Israel.

He is a descendant of Libyan Jews, His great-grandfather was a prominent Libyan rabbi, and his father brought the family from Libya to Israel.

His brother is Yaniv d'Or, who is also a singer.

When he was young, D'Or's parents encouraged him to become a lawyer or a doctor, but he simply loved to sing.

When his voice began to change, he worked to retain his ability to sing notes in a high range.

For a while he was quite shy about singing using his high range, as it was unusual in Israel—which he explains used to be "quite a machoistic country—for someone to sing with such a high voice, and he had no one to imitate as no Israeli men sang in such a high voice, but he says that now it is "part of me." "[I]t was like using [only] part of me", he said. "I could sing low and I could sing high; [I]t's like using only one hand...you have two hands, and you're using only your right hand."