Amal Choucri Catta revels in aria galore And there was song on that Gala Night. And there was very satisfying music. And there was joy. It was one of those rare occasions when the audience leaves in perfect spirits, humming one or another of the tunes they have listened to. It was one of Nader Abbassi's very special nights, carefully planned and brilliantly performed. The Cairo Opera House was filled with an expectant crowd, come to cheer two foreign prima donnas: soprano Nuccia Focile and mezzo-soprano Eugine Grunewald, as well as the Egyptian bass-baritone Reda El-Wakil. Suddenly -- a hush. The concert opened with the Intermezzo from Giacomo Puccini's three-act opera "Edgar", based on Alfred de Musset's verse drama La coupe et les lèvres. It is, with Le Villi, one of Puccini's early works, which failed when premiered in Milan in 1889. Though it has an enchanting, complicated plot, it is seldom if ever performed, with audiences the world over preferring the famous trio: "La Bohème", "Tosca", and "Madame Butterfly" -- to which are generally added "Manon Lescaut" and Puccini's last opera, "Turandot". That night, however, the orchestral Intermezzo was followed by an aria from the same opera: Fidelia's lovely "Addio mio dolce amore". She is in love with Edgar, and so is Tigrana, her rival, who after a burdened set of developments finally stabs her -- Edgar throws himself onto Fidelia's dead body. Nuccia Focile, the marvellous Italian soprano, was a sweet, sweet sight in her azure gown, with her sweet voice and her sweet smile. Her sheer sweetness overwhelmed the audience. She has sung title roles in most of the operatic repertoire, performing in the world's leading operas, such as Covent Garden, the Metropolitan, La Scala and Opéra de Paris, La Fenice, Deutsche Oper Berlin and many others. Her performance was enchanting throughout. Still, with the second aria, "Un bel di vedremo" from "Butterfly", she did gain confidence. It is the loveliest aria from Act Two, in which she sings of her longing for Pinkerton's return. When he does return, he is in the company of his American wife, however; the butterfly takes her own life. There was sorrow and despair in Focile's youthful timbre; she conveyed both hope and grief to startling effect. And she returned, once again with Puccini, to open the second part of the concert: the orchestral Intermezzo of the four-act opera "Manon Lescaut", followed by the soprano's "Sola perduta abbandonata" -- the last aria of Act Four. The heroine bids her own life farewell before dying in the arms of the man she has loved. A nostalgic, sorrowful aria that brought up a question: why does Focile choose only mournful and cheerless songs? Even her last aria was dismal: abandoning Puccini, she turned to Guisseppe Verdi's four-act opera "La Forza del Destino", singing Leonora's prayer for peace of mind before she dies, believing she will meet her lover in a better world. Well, at least there was one exception -- when Focile went Russian, singing the long aria from the second scene of Act One in Peter Ilitch Tchaikovsky's three-act opera "Eugine Onegin". In this scene, Tatyana, having fallen in love with Onegin, stays up all night writing an impassioned letter to reveal that love. The following morning, however, he reproaches her for her forwardness, urging her to forget him. Focile was just as convincing with Tchaikovsky as she had been with Puccini and Verdi. Nader Abbasi's second prima donna opened her concert with two arias from pietro Mascagni's one-act opera "Cavalleria Rusticana": the beautiful "regina Coeli laetre" with the choir and "Voi le sepete", Santuzza's account to Mamma Lucia of her betrayal by Turidi. Grunewald's stage presence was phenomenal. There was nothing sweet about her, nothing à l'eu de rose. A dazzling, sensational performer: though visibly suffering from a bad cold, her beautiful, powerful voice fascinated an appreciative audience, holding them spellbound for the duration of her performance. Her second aria, closing the first part of the concert, was Amneris's famous "Ohime, morir mi sento" from Act Four of Verdi's "Aida", with male choir and participation from Reda El-Wakil, usually cast in the role of the high priest Ramphis. At the end, with her formidable curse condemning the clerics to the vengeance of heaven, the house came down with bravos as it never had before. Grunewald was a fabulous Amneris, her performance out of this world. She was called back repeatedly, the audience not wanting to let go of her. But she did return in the second part of the concert with "Stride la vampa", the gypsy Azuncena's aria in Act Two of Verdi's "Il Travatore", in which she contemplates the grim, mysterious memories reflected in the fire. Her last aria was Azucena's "Condotta ell era in ceppi, al suo destin tremendo" from the same act. Dramatic mezzo-soprano Grunewald is a successful diva in the US and elsewhere. Last year she returned to France as the Mother in a triumphant new production of Gian Carlo Menotti's "Maria Golovin", in Marseilles, which Nader Abbasi successfully conducted. He was thrilled at her performance -- just as the Cairo audience would turn out to be that night. My hope is she will be back. The third soloist that night was bass-baritone Reda El-Wakil. He sang two arias: "Si morir ella de" from Amilcare Ponchielli's four-act opera "La Gioconda" and "Son lo spirito" from Arrigo Boito's five-act opera "Mefistofele". Both were brilliantly performed. An extremely successful bass-baritone, El-Wakil is sure to captivate audiences wherever he goes. This extraordinary performance was no exception. The concert closed with a brief version of the famous "Barcarolle" from Jacque Offenbach's three-act opera "Les contes d'Hoffmann", beautifully sung by Grunewald and Focile with the choir. Once again the house came down and the audience kept asking for more. Responding, the three singers gave us "Soave sia il vento" from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte". A resounding triumph for maestro, choir and singers.
