Celebrity Grapevine

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, will present a special concert at the Polish National Opera House in Warsaw.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
zubin mehta good 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy)
zubin mehta good 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy)
THE ISRAEL Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, will present a special concert at the Polish National Opera House in Warsaw this week to coincide with the State visit of President Shimon Peres. It is entirely appropriate that the IPO should play in Poland, because its founder, renowned violinist Bronislaw Huberman, was born in Poland. THE POPULAR PRESENTER of the long-running television travel series Massa Olami (Journey Around the World), Eyal Peled, was hospitalized in serious condition last Wednesday after suffering a stroke. He had complained the previous day that he did not feel well. A friend who had been trying unsuccessfully for several hours to reach Peled on his cell phone decided to go to his home to see if anything was wrong. With the help of another friend he broke through a window and discovered Peled, 49, collapsed on the floor. A Magen David Adom ambulance transported him to Hadassah. Peled began to present the program through Tel-Ad, the production company where his father Uzi Peled was CEO. Tel-Ad was one of the original three franchisees broadcasting on Channel 2. The program was broadcast for 12 years until Tel-Ad was ousted from the trio of franchisees, leaving behind Reshet and Keshet. After a brief hiatus, the program was revived on Channel 10 three years ago. NOSTALGIA IS the name of the game this year in almost everything connected to anniversaries, specifically anything related to Israel's 60th anniversary. But there is also a nostalgia link to the 13th anniversary of Yemei Hazemer (Days of Song), which opens on April 22 at the Holon Theater. Among the many singers who will be appearing over the five-day period are two veteran performers from abroad: Geula Gil from the United States and Rika Zarai from France. The 60th anniversary of the state has not been overlooked, and in a segment headlined "60 Years of Mediterranean Song" Einat Sarouf, Zahava Ben, Shimi Tavori, Daklan, Shimon Buskila, Moshe Hillel and Lilit Nagar will run the gamut from golden oldies to the present day. Rami Kleinstein will also be performing - but not with Rita. The husband and wife team this time around will be Assaf and Michal Amdurski. Lovers of Yiddish songs might be a little disappointed by the tribute to be given to this genre by Hannah Laszlo and Gadi Yagil. They are going to sing Yiddish favorites in Hebrew. Quite frankly, they just don't sound the same. UNLIKE SELF-exiled millionaire Kobi Alexander, who brought a planeload of guests to Namibia for his son's bar mitzva, Chelsea football coach Avram Grant and his actress wife, Tsofit, want to bring their British friends to Israel for their son's bar mitzva. Tsofit, who was recently in Israel to check out an appropriate venue for the event, is negotiating with the British producers of Dancing with the Stars to appear on British TV and has started taking dance lessons to improve her technique. GIVING BIRTH did not leave actress and television personality Eden Harel out of work. The former MTV Europe VJ, who is married to local television host Oded Menashe, gave birth to her second child four months ago. The first is from a previous marriage. Though usually quite slim, Harel put on a lot of extra girth during her pregnancy - and it didn't disappear as soon as the baby arrived. Cashing in on this opportunity, Isha Isha, which specializes in large sizes, invited her to model its current collection for its new advertising campaign. It's not her first stint at modeling, but it's the first time that she's been used as a presenter for large sizes - and the pay is not too bad. She is expected to get around $60,000. THE BEAUTIFUL Riki Blich, who entered into public consciousness in her role as ugly Estee in the telenovela series of the same name, is taking on a new role - namely that of the bride. After a long relationship with Shlomo Kraus, who finally got around to proposing, Blich will soon start looking at wedding dresses and catering establishments. FOLLOWING SOMEWHAT in the footsteps of Uri Zohar, Pupik Arnon, Shuli Rand, Yehuda Barkan and other people in the entertainment industry who turned to religion, is broadcaster Eli Israeli, who is moving in that direction. Israeli, who is a Brazilian music buff, popularized Brazilian music in Israel. Israeli has told his close secular friends that regardless of the extent to which his lifestyle may change, he will not abandon them, and will continue to see them on a regular basis. They in turn have assured him that they will respect his religious beliefs.