The Exiled Queen

In memoriam Ofra Haza (1957-2000) and her wonderful music.

Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza (Hebrew: בת-שבע עפרה חזה) (19 November 1957–23 February 2000) was an Israeli singer, songwriter and actress, commonly known in the Western world as "the Madonna of the East". Her voice has been described as a tender mezzo-soprano.
Of Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish) descent, Ofra's music is known as a mixture of traditional Middle Eastern and commercial singing styles, fusing elements of Eastern and Western instrumentation, orchestration and dance-beat, as well as lyrics from Mizrahi and Jewish folk tales and poetry. By the late 1980's, Ofra was an internationally successful artist appearing regularly on MTV. During her singing career, she earned many platinum and golden discs and her music proved highly popular also in the club scene. By the 1990's, she regularly featured in movie soundtracks, such as that of Dick Tracy (1990) and the Prince of Egypt, and her vocals were popularly sampled in hip-hop too.


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