Art Alert: Cairo Opera Orchestra to perform highlights from favourite operettas

On Wednesday 10 April, Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Nayer Nagui will perform highlights from French and Austrian operettas

Operetta is a type of opera where the audience is invited to a lovely mixture of romantic sentiments, comedy and parodies of serious operas. Abundant in exquisite music and a good dosage of dialogue, operettas are always great delights for the audience. Last month, the Cairo Opera House staged a full operetta by Franz Lehár, The Merry Widow.
On 10 April, the Cairo Opera Orchestra will perform highlights from the most beloved operettas topped with arias from operas buffas (comic operas).
Dubbed L'opérette francaise et viennoise, the evening will bring to light 19th and early 20th century gems from French and Viennese musical cultures, presenting works by Austrio-Hungarian Franz Lehár, Austrian Johann Strauss II, German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach and French Louis Varney.
Among the many known arias, the evening will include arias from Lehár's The Merry Widow and The Land of Smiles,Strauss' Die FledermausI, Varney's Les Mouquetaires au couvent (The Musketeers at the Convent), Offenbach's La belle Hélène (The Beautiful Helen), along with Franz von Suppé's overture to Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna and Offenbach's overture to Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld), among many other compositions for soloists and orchestra.
The soloists for the evening will be soprani Iman Moustafa and Dalia Farouk, tenor Ragaa El-Din Ahmed and baritone Elhamy Amin. Special guest star will be soprano Caroline Dumas.
The director of the evening is Hisham El-Tally, while the Cairo Opera Ballet Company will embellish chosen arias with choreography by Erminia Kamel.
The Cairo Opera Orchestra will be conducted by its principal conductor and artistic director, Nayer Nagui.
Programme:
Wednesday 10 April at 8pm
Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, Zamalek