Between 20 and 25 March, 'The Merry Widow,' an operetta by Franz Lehár, will be performed at the main hall of the Cairo Opera House. It is one of the very rare occasions when a Western opera gem has been translated into Arabic and performed on a Cairo stage. In 1961, Ratiba El-Hefny sung the title role in Cairo's Old Opera House, in Arabic. Ever since, the operetta keeps returning to the stage, always finding remarkable acclaim from the audience. The experience includes beautiful music and an engaging plot, typical to the operetta spirit, where farce meets romance, and after several incidents where a fan plays an important role, the viewer is treated to a happy ending. The upcoming production of 'The Merry Widow' will be performed by soloists from the Cairo Opera Company, the Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Hisham Gabr, the Cairo Opera Choir with Aldo Magnato as choir master, and the Cairo Opera Ballet Company. The director of the operetta is Abdallah Saad. The operetta will involve many talents from the Cairo Opera Company, including: Iman Moustafa, Abdel Wahab El-Sayed, Jolie Faizy, Ezzat Ghanem, Nouresta El-Marghany, Ossama Gamal, Walid Korayem, Mona Rafla, Amr Medhat, Gihan Fayed, Mohamed El-Batrik, Mostafa Mohamed, Emad Adel, Ragaa El-Din Ahmed, Ibrahim Nagui and Ahmed Samy. Programme: 20, 22, 24 and 25 March, at 8pm Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek
