Obituary: Israeli Opera Artistic Director Michael Ajzenstadt Dies at 71

By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Pinhas Stern)

Michael Ajzenstadt has died at the age of 71.

The Israeli Opera said via social media, “The Israeli opera bids farewell with great pain and much love from Michael Ajzenstadt, whom many knew him as ‘Mr. Opera.’ Michael passed away on September 27, in the morning, after six months of battling cancer. The 71-year-old was dead. Michael is blessed with tremendous knowledge of dimensions, genuine vision, extraordinary performance ability, and burning passion for the world of opera and the stage. Thanks to all of these, he had an unprecedented influence on the opera activity in Israel for about three decades. We were privileged to work alongside one of the giants of our generation and we will never know thank you for that. We send a warm and loving hug to Michael’s family, his wife, his children, and grandchildren, whom he loved most of all. We mourn with them for the loss of such a dear man, who will be missed by all of us forever.”

Ajzenstadt was the Artistic Director of the Israeli Opera for over 30 years and served the larger opera community in Israel for decades.

He founded the Children’s Opera Hour and wrote hundreds of articles for the respective programs printed each season. He was also The Jerusalem Post opera critic and a musical educator.

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