The visit to Egypt by Norway's Queen Sonja this week was the highlight of the local celebrations to mark the death centenary of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Nevine El-Aref follows the royal trail Queen Sonja of Norway visited Egypt this week at the invitation of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak to attend the finale of the world's year-long celebration marking the centennial of the death of the great playwright Henrik Ibsen, launched last January in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. The festival has bee marked in 80 countries worldwide, with a total of about 8,000 events celebrating Ibsen's life and works. Egypt was chosen as the venue to host the closing of Ibsen's gala commemoration, with several prestigious arts activities being held in Cairo and Alexandria. The stage at the feet of the Sphinx on the Giza Plateau provided a dramatic setting for a spectacular performance of Ibsen's world- acclaimed play Peer Gynt. The event was widely held to be not only the high spot of all the Egyptian cultural events of 2006, but also the greatest international performance in the year-long Ibsen commemoration. At the brilliant performance, in the presence of Mrs Mubarak and Queen Sonja along with a score of Norwegian and Egyptian top officials and ministers, Queen Sonja awarded Mrs Mubarak the Henrik Ibsen Foundation's award for her leading role in promoting cultural dialogue between all nations, her constant efforts to promote the various segments of culture, and her building of bridges to connect different civilisations. The award also honoured Mrs Mubarak for her support for the event, which also marked the 70th anniversary of Egyptian- Norwegian diplomatic ties. The Giza performance, which was organised by Ibsen 2006 in collaboration with the Egyptian Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Culture and the Cairo Opera House, attracted more than 1,500 international visitors to the Egyptian capital. The production was directed by Bentein Baardson, who also orchestrated the highly- acclaimed opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics at Lillehammer in 1994 as well as the official opening of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in 2002. Ibsen, who was born in 1828, has been called "the father of modern drama" and his works are as widely read and performed as Shakespeare's plays. Peer Gynt, which was written in 1867 and is among Ibsen's most famous works, is a perceptive poetic drama telling the story of the life of the eponymous main character. His travelling experiences in the Arab world held a special poignancy for the Giza audience as it drew to its dramatic climax in the shadow of the Pyramids. Baardson cast Norwegian actors Bjarte Hjelmeland and Lise Fjeldstad in the leading roles. The performance was accompanied by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Cairo Opera A Capella Choir together with singers from the Norwegian National Opera. All proceeds have been pledged to the Egyptian Children's Cancer Hospital. To coincide with Egypt's four-day celebration a dozen of Ibsen's most significant plays, including of course Peer Gynt, have been republished in Arabic and launched on the Egyptian market. During her tour in Cairo Queen Sonja visited a number of Islamic, Coptic and Pharaonic historical sites, among them the Citadel of Salaheddin and the Mohamed Ali Mosque, the Hanging Church and the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo, and the monuments of the Giza Plateau. Guided by Zahi Hawass, secretary- general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Queen Sonja toured the halls of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square. On Sunday she travelled to Alexandria where, accompanied by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina's chairman Ismail Serageddin, she opened an Ibsen exhibition entitled "Ibsen's Women". Queen Sonja also visited the various sections of the Bibliotheca and its museum. At the close of her official visit to Egypt Queen Sonja embarked on a five-day trip to the Upper Egyptian city of Luxor to see a number of archeological sites. Samir Farag, the head of the Supreme Council of Luxor, versed the Norwegian queen on the ongoing comprehensive project to develop Luxor. The project, which is being implemented in tandem with the United Nations Development Programme, is set to make Luxor not only the world's greatest but also its largest open museum.
