Rosenblatt & Gershwin is a concert in another league. The music ranges from the infectious, fascinatin' rhythms of George Gershwin to the soaring operatic melodies of both Gershwin and Yoselle Rosenblatt.
Ode to a Golden Age
It was the time of speakeasies and prohibition. It was the era of the flappers and the big Broadway follies. World War 1 was just over, and America was irrepressible. And, it was also the time when the Jews of Eastern Europe who came there made their indelible mark.
Two men, each in their own musical and cultural quarter, stood head and shoulders above all else in their generation. They were Yossele Rosenblatt, King of the Cantors, and George Gershwin, the young King of Broadway.
The Haredi Cantor and the Secular Songwriter
Click here for two amazing stories about Porgy and Bess, with video and photographs.
It is hard to believe just how big Yossele Rosenblatt was, even, and maybe especially, among non-Jewish audiences. When was the last time a non-Jewish culture critic came to write a rave review of a Yom Kippur service, taking place in one of the most historic venues in Chicago? When Yossele was singing, that's when.
In the concert, we will hear about how he refused an offer-he-couldn't-refuse, how his generosity was his undoing, and how he helped make motion picture history.
George Gershwin became the King of Broadway at an incredibly young age. His rise to prominence was meteoric, as his talent was so far beyond anything the New York scene had seen. He achieved the incredible feat of bridging the worlds of popular and classical music.
His fans included Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Shoenberg and Sergei Rachmaninoff. He wrote some of the most haunting, fun and inspired music of all time. And he left us far too soon.
Yisrael Lutnick tells their riveting stories with humor and reverence, while singing an eclectic mix of Yossele's operatic chazzanut, George's vibrant songs, and a touch of his concept of opera as well.
Bringing Musical History to Life
Yisrael Lutnick, cantor and musical theater performer, has created a new type of performance, the Storytelling Historical Concert. He initiated the concept with his acclaimed "Frankly, Sinatra..", and now brings it to full fruition with the extraordinary stories and music of Yossele Rosenblatt and George Gershwin. Yisrael has performed in New York's theater district, in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, the Catskills and across Israel. He has been featured on Channel 10's "The Professionals", Channel 33's "Sheva Arbaim", and Channel 2's "Yetzira Mekomit".
