Itai Levy (photo by Or Danon)
The busiest and most sought-after singer in Israel these days is undoubtedly Itai Levy. He is only 35 years old and already has a career of over a decade behind him, and only the last year will testify to this: performances in Caesarea and Menora sold out, he stars as a “Casablanca” in the National Theater of the Bhima, was chosen to lead the beacon ceremony on Independence Day, “and on the way” serves as a judge of “The Next Star” , a presenter of brands, appears every day, expanding his business in the field of real estate, and of course the free time he uses for cooking and entertaining which he loves “it does me good, like therapy”, and his personal and special relationship with his close family and his mother.
“I don’t sleep that many hours,” Levy says in an interview just after the premiere of Casablanca about the crazy schedule he creates for himself, “I make the most of the hours of the day. Friends in the industry say that if I could I would add two more hours to the day. But I love what I do, and am always looking to make music.”
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“The relationship is more than close. It is really a wish of mine if I could meet the Rebbe of Lubavitch. It started from my childhood in the neighborhood in Rehovot where there was a huge Chabad house where they would take us to make matzoh on Pesach, and there is something very close and embracing about them, to receive the All are equal. The first time I came to a Chabad house in the USA in 770, we were a group of women and men and a religious guy met us there and asked how we were doing, and we asked him where the entrance to the house was and if it was possible to enter and if it was possible at all men and women, and he straight up said: the entrance is from here, come in Everyone, and inside we’ll get along. This is everyone’s acceptance, and there is great joy in them, and it makes my soul feel good and I am connected to the tzaddik and the rabbi and his sayings in his books.”
“I refrain from saying about myself that I study, I do want to learn and read a lot and learn from the Rebbe about looking at life. Once a delegation of IDF disabled people from Israel came to the Rebbe and asked to meet with him, and he stopped everything in the middle of the sermon and said that he would certainly bring them, and he told them: You are not disabled in the IDF, you are excellent in the IDF. He always spoke in the so-called Segi Nahor, like calling hospitals – healing houses. I define myself as traditional, light Shabbat candles and candles every day for a righteous person and try to learn as much as possible.”
Itai Levy’s simplicity in the interview is surprising in light of the media coverage surrounding him about the villa in Nes Ziona, the life from the eyes, but Itai gives a different attitude than what we are used to from a successful coach in his position.
The interview takes place a moment after the premiere of the successful musical “Casablanca” and I ask Levy if this is currently a “stop” for his musical career. Levy immediately shuns the word “stop”, in his eyes he never stops his life’s work, which is actually music: “Even with Casabellan, I still work every day, perform every day, and just a short time ago there was a performance in Menorah with Static. Casabellan is indeed a theater But a musical, not a heavy ‘Shakespeare’ play but a light, pleasant musical, with a lot of message in the spirit of the time, which also received a kind of political twist following the recent period.”
Did you get to talk to Yoram Gaon about Casabellan, did he come to the show?
“There was no contact between us, but I realized that he really likes me and appreciates the role I took in the play, and I believe he will come to one of the plays.”
Levy’s story is not obvious, a personal story that has already been revealed in the past with his father who was in prison at a young age and his mother who worked three jobs to support him and his brother. His personal connection with his mother and respecting his parents is fundamental to getting to know Itai Levy from the inside and the importance he places on taking care of her.
This is also the reason why his career did not take off at a very young age: “I was afraid all these years to succeed,” Levy confesses, “All these years I was always ‘near’ the music. Whether at first as a singing waiter or in an event band, always near. Because I was afraid of losing my mother because I took care of her , and if you start such a career it takes away from you.” Today, with the success, Levy is proud that he helps his mother, she lives with a nanny and in good conditions, and in retrospect he also admits that he only started his career at a relatively late age: “Music burned in me and I wanted so much to succeed, but at 25 you are more settled in your mind than At the age of 19, although there was no money, but this is a more mature age. It was still not easy, but it is a process of growth and growth.”
The transition from dream to success – where do you put the point that led to change for you?
“I sometimes give lectures in schools, in difficult places. And I tell them that I strongly believe in guided imagination, that what you think in the end can become reality. It won’t be easy, but as a child I was very ‘imaginative’ and I dreamed very strongly.”
As a businessman, you also have a real estate company named after your mother “Ruth Real Estate”. Do you see it as a pure business or do you have an attraction to the real estate industry?
“First of all it’s business, yes. But I love the field very much. I study a lot, read a lot and am knowledgeable about the market. Dealing with my projects and being personally involved in it and going to see the work of the workers. It started with a very good friend of mine, after I started making money And it was a period of extravagance, which advised me to go in and invest and put money aside. Real estate is, after all, a stable asset, and artists at the beginning of their career who come to consult me, I recommend that they invest in real estate even if they have some money.”
“I am conservative in my nature, and in business as well and I don’t get into adventures. Even among friends, if there is something or a project, they ask ‘If I am with you, see and look’ at it first, because I check first. As soon as the recession started and the market called for a stop, then we stopped.”
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You are covered a lot in the media, do you read what is written about you?
“I have not read reviews for many years, and I try to read only good things. This does not mean that there is no criticism: I believe that what needs to be done is to do well and be successful, and each person has a distinction about himself and the artist himself can also criticize himself. Even if there is criticism of ‘Casablanc ‘ Those who say I’m not an actor, it’s true. I didn’t study acting and I didn’t meet the standards of an actor. They met me in a hallway conversation during the broadcasts of ‘The Next Star’ who want me to be the next casablanca, and I immediately agreed. This is the opportunity of my life and I’m having a lot of fun. In the meantime, 90 shows have passed and the tickets are snapped up “.
Does the media coverage also affect relationships or have you already gotten used to it?
“I don’t think it bothers me, but there are times when it does eventually bother me and her, from her side. At the beginning of a relationship, both parties are still examining the situation if we build something, if you are acquaintances, friends, if there is a relationship, and you get up in the morning and call that you got divorced’.
“Passover is the holiday I love most in the world, between winter and summer, it symbolizes new growth and sitting together with the family. This year I have a limited family Seder night, and of course with my mother. My mother is everything, she is the blessing. The names of the companies I opened are named after her and the logo For the girlfriend, this is her picture. I didn’t have an easy time with her, but she is my blessing. And I think she is proud of me and I satisfy her.”
Itai Levy in concert in the USA. From the archive
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