Humash Lider
Text: Itzik Manger
Hebrew translation and annotations: Haim Hefer
1969 – The Folk Theater, A. Deshe (Pashanel) (Director: Shmuel Bunim)
Partly musical, partly opera, this work consists of short episodes that depict biblical stories after Itzik Manger's unique interpretation and Shmuel Bunim's stage adaptation.
The show was produced by Avraham Deshe Pashanel and was designated for large venues such as the Mann Auditorium, Binyenei Ha'Oomah or the Caesarea Amphitheater.
The production included an array of celebrated Israeli actors/singers and was accompanied by an orchestra made up of numerous players from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of the composer.
The music was not written in an eastern European Jewish vein (like The Megillah), but, rather, as music that relates to the textual content, and therefore several songs became hits in their own right. After several performances in Yiddish, the texts were translated into Hebrew and the show was awarded a new production with stars from the Israeli theater and song scene.
Later, the Yiddish Spiel Theater produced the musical for the Israel Festival, with a broadened chamber orchestra accompaniment.
