Eurovision 1990 Israel Rita Open The Window (1999) HDTV ריטה

Discover Rita - Israel's Premier Artist; ריטה תפתח חלון

Rita began her career in 1980 as part of a musical troop in the Israeli Army. In 1982, she attended the "Beit Zvi" school of acting. Her first exposure to the general public in Israel was at the 1986 Pre-Eurovision Song Contest (known as the Kdam-Eurovision), which decided who would represent Israel in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. Rita did not win, but her song, along with her provocative performance garnered much interest. That same year, Rita starred in an adaptation of My Fair Lady and released her self-titled debut album, Rita, which went triple platinum, selling over 120,000 copies.

In 1988, Rita released her second album, Yemei Ha'Tom (Days of Innocence), which was produced by her husband Rami Kleinstein, which included a song by the noted Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin. In 1990, Rita finally got her chance to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song Shara Barkhovot (Singing in the Streets), but only got to the 18th place. After a brief hiatus, Rita returned in 1994 with her third album, Ahava Gedola (Big Love), which was also successful and led to a three-year tour around the country. Tahanot Bazman (Stations in Time) was released in 1996, consisting mainly of previously unreleased materials.

In 1998, Rita was invited to sing the Israeli national Anthem Hatikvah (The Hope) as part of Israel's jubilee celebration Paamonei ha'yovel (The Jubilee Bells). There was a minor uproar concerning the amount of money she would be paid, which seemed exorbitant to some, but she was finally convinced to perform, following a call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She reportedly gave the money she earned to charity.

In 1999, Rita released Tiftah Halon (Open a Window) which was also a great success, followed by Hamtzam (oxygen) in 2003 which was less successful. In 2004, Rita played the role of Roxie Hart in an adaptation of Chicago for the Beit Leisin Theater.[1]

In 2006, Rita put on a new show called One (in English) which ran for a month at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center. Directed by Hanoch Rozen, it was a lavish affair including lasers, flamethrowers, 3-D images, smoke machines and forty dancers, acrobats, and actors. Over 100,000 tickets were sold.

After five years in which she didn't release any new albums, Rita released her 7th album, "Remzaim" (Clues).