Dudu Fisher | |
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Born |
David Fisher 18 November 1951 Petah Tikva, Israel |
Alma mater | Tel Aviv Academy of Music |
Occupation | Actor and cantor |
David "Dudu" Fisher (born 18 November 1951; דודו פישר) is an Israeli cantor and stage performer.
He is known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Misérables.
The son of a Holocaust survivor, Fisher was born in Petah Tikva, Israel. Fisher had a son in June 2016. His wife Revital is his promoter and his agent.
Fisher began cantorial studies at age 22, after his discharge from the army following three years of service that included the Yom Kippur War. He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, and studied privately under Cantor Shlomo Ravitz. He then took up the cantorial position at the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv, followed by four years in South Africa. For over 20 years, he was the cantor at Kutsher's Hotel in the Catskills during the Jewish high holidays. In 2005, he became the Chief Cantor of the Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, New York and its now defunct subsidiary, the New York Synagogue in Manhattan.
After being mesmerised by the London performance of the 1980s hit musical, Fisher, despite no prior acting experience, requested the part in a Hebrew production of Les Misérables. He played its leading role, Jean Valjean, in Israel from 1987 to 1990, and made local fame.
He played the role on New York City's Broadway during the winter of 1993-1994, and later at London's West End, where he was invited to perform before Queen Elizabeth II. At both venues, Fisher was the first performer excused from Friday night and Saturday performances, as he is an Orthodox Jew and was not able to perform because of the Sabbath.