18-day event includes theater, opera, circus, jazz and more; discounts available for certain performances.
More than 100 local and international artists descended on Israel this week for the 49th annual Israel Festival, the country's largest arts and cultural festival.
The 18-day event opened Tuesday with the King's Singers, a British group that performs renaissance, jazz, folk and pop music and won a Grammy in 2009, and the Argentine dance troupe Angokinesis, which combines traditional tango and modern dance.
Local groups also participated in opening night, including a maiden performance by Rabbi Haim Louk with the New Jerusalem Orchestra, which combines liturgical poems with modern Israeli music.
The range of events includes theater, opera, music, circus and dance, with shows for children and a wine and jazz expo for adults.
Organizers of this year's festival are offering a set of significant discounts (50% on regularly priced tickets or 25% for the less expensive tickets) to three major jazz performances: Legendary American jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd and his new quartet, on May 29; The Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio led by Poland's top jazz pianist on May 31; and Grammy-winning saxophonist Joe Lovano, who The New York Times has called "one of the greatest musicians in jazz history," on June 6.