Rita on the Main Stage

Rita moved from Iran to Israel with her family when she was six years old. Her music combines the Middle Eastern lilt of her Persian heritage with a more Western orientation– the influence of her American born husband, Rami Kleinstein, one of Israel’s leading artist-composer-producers.

Rita studied for three years at Israel’s Academy for the Arts of Stage and Screen.  She had  her first single hit the radio in November 1985 and it stayed at #1for nine weeks. In 1986 one of her songs took the country by storm and was chosen as "Song of the Year."

April 1986 saw the release of her debut album, which has sold over 120,000 copies (Triple Platinum)and is still selling. Two years later a second "local" album followed, which went Gold and then Platinum almost overnight. These impressive sales figures were due in part to Rita's highly successful and record breaking tour: 130 sold out performances.

Israel's national radio station chose Rita as “Singer of the Year” for the first time in 1988.  A year later she broke into the world of the silver screen, starring as Flora in the film "The Thousand Wives of Naftali", which received enthusiastic reviews,. and she was chosen as "Singer of the Year" for the second consecutive yearShe was also named "Woman of the Decade for the Stage Arts" by one of Israel’s leading daily papersand her tour was voted "Tour of the Year" in 1989.

In 1992 Rita became a mother.A short while after giving birth her cover of the Police’s “Roxanne” was released in France where it stayed at the top of the charts for a number of weeks. Rita’s third album, “Great Love,” was completed and released in the summer of 1994. The record reached Platinum in less then one month and and is now a Triple Platinum album.

The “Great Love” tour that followed the album was the most impressive concert production  launched on an Israeli stage. For three years, all dates were sold out weeks in advance. After giving birth to a second daughter in 2001, Rita and her husband Rami embarked on a joint tour for the first time, performing to SROhouses everywhere. A live album of the tour was released in June 2001 and immediately reached Double Platinum. In 2003 her 6th solo album, “Oxygen,” was released andaccompanied by a breathtaking stage show.

Today, Rita continues to dazzle worldwide audiences with her talent.  The San Francisco Jewish Community Federation and its partners are honored to have her performing at this year’s Israel in the Gardens festival.

Rita - proudly sponsored by the Israeli community in the Bay Area.