Leonard Cohen, the renowned singer and poet from Montreal, landed in Israel today ahead of his Thursday night concert in Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan Stadium.
Leonard Cohen (Photo: Avi Gerver)
Last Friday, Cohen collapsed on stage during a concert in Valencia, Spain. He reportedly was suffering from food poisoning, and fainted in the middle of the song “Bird on a Wire.” However, Cohen was quickly back to health, and performed in Barcelona on Monday night before 11,000 fans — on his 75th birthday.
Haaretz reported today that Cohen arrived on a private plane, which he will use to travel around Israel, and went directly to the Dan Tel Aviv Hotel. The newspaper report, from the City Mouse online entertainment site, noted that the hotel “surprised Cohen by upgrading his room to an upscale suite, despite him having ordered a regular room.”
The concert Thursday will be Cohen’s first in Israel in more than 20 years. The show sold out in about 12 hours, with tickets priced at 1,000 to 1,200 shekels ($270 to $320 US).
Haaretz also reported that the concert configuration allowed several hundred more tickets to become available last week, for spaces on venue’s lawn.
During Cohen’s performance, Hebrew subtitles will be displayed on a screen above the stage.
