Amal Choucri Catta watches Aida cast her spell on a reluctant audience Opera Aida presented by Cairo Opera Company, Orchestra and Choir with Cairo Opera Ballet Company ; cond. Nader Abbassi; dir. Abdalla Saad; choir Aldo Magnato; choreographers Abdel-Moneim and Erminia Kamel. Venue: Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 3 and 4 Sept. Opening night could not have been drearier, nor more chaotic. After two months of a mostly sad summer season, opera-lovers were longing for Aida 's very special opening night, presenting Giuseppe Verdi's chef d'oeuvre of Bel Canto at Cairo Opera's Main Hall. Their disappointment began when they entered the foyer to find it devoid of its vermilion sofas. The coffee shop, too, was closed they were told the catering company had left and the new one had not yet taken over. Hot and cold drinks were, however, served on the top floor and everyone was asked to take the stairs. Adults were dissatisfied and kids enjoyed themselves running up and down the stairs, making a deafening din. As the lights were dimmed and Maestro Nader Abbassi appeared in the orchestra pit, one would have expected loud applause followed by attentive silence. But the voices went on chattering, the children kept up their din, and the whole opera mood vanished into oblivion. The first tenderly meditative chords of Aida 's beautiful "Preludio" disappeared, while a few opera- lovers tried to silence their immediate neighbours. Nor had the din abated when the curtain was lifted on the first scene of Act I, showing the priests in the temple, with the high priest Ramfis and the great warrior Radames introducing the plot. To make a long and rather distasteful story short, it must be said that the ambience, at this point, was that of a third-rate theatre and not of the only opera house in the Middle East. One is entitled to ask why four- and five-year-old children are allowed into the Opera House, and where the ushers and the man in charge of order have gone. In the good old days, the ushers were well-drilled, leading the audience to their seats and taking the utmost care with order and discipline. On opening night, opera-lovers would have expected the opera house to be gloriously got up for the new season, as in past years, with lights and music and flowers and a general mood of festivity instead of the din and indifference to music we had at the beginning of the season this year. The unfriendly atmosphere was echoed during the performance when soloists rarely received applause, despite doing their best to bring a little warmth into the evening. That night, Radames never got any sign of appreciation for his famous first-act aria "O celeste Aida", though he sang it brilliantly. The singer, a Russian tenor, graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov conservatoire in St Petersburg in 1988. An award- winner, he participated in all important operatic works in Russia, Switzerland and other countries. Igor Jan toured Japan with Aida and Tosca with renowned divas in the title role. His clear, powerful voice has warmth and sensitivity, though he sometimes seems to concentrate more on sound than on sentiment. He was, however, one of the few excellent performers that night. Another impressive performer was bass- baritone Reda El-Wakil: ever since the performances of Aida at the Gomhouriyya Theatre, before the new Opera House was inaugurated, he has been cast as Ramfis the hight priest. El-Wakil is one of the most reliable performers among male singers: his intense interpretation, passionate dedication and magnificent presence have won him respect and admiration both locally and internationally. That night, director Abdulla Saad did a great job as usual. Sets and costumes were fabulously rich, and the two dances performed by the ballerinas with the corps de ballet were quite spectacular. But the children's dance of Act II, in Amneris' chambers, lacked coordination; then again, the children have grown -- they were better when they were younger. Baritone Mustafa Mohamed, in the role of Amonasro, Aida's father and king of Ethiopia, came as a most agreeable surprise. He is rather young for the part, though his voice and entire performance were excellent. Soprano Iman Mustafa sang the title role on opening night she has been Aida for several years, with her moments of glory, of sorrow and of great drama, the latter mainly when her father asks her to turn Radames into a traitor. Which she finally does in Act III. It is one of her most important acts: here she is fighting her very own war between nostalgic melodies and sequences of anguish and fear. She loves her father and she loves Radames; she is furthermore a princess and has the duty to defend her king and her country. In the end, however, she chooses to die with Radames in his tomb. Their farewell song to life and to the world is filled with happy visions of a better universe. Mezzo-soprano Gala El-Hadidi was a beautifully-voiced Sacerdotessa, and bass-baritone Hatem El-Guindi made a rather interesting Pharaoh. He is a young singer with a bright and promising future. Among the laudable sequences of that night's performance, Nader Abbassi's orchestra should not be forgotten. Under the maestro's eloquent baton, the musicians gave us glorious music, and as the curtain fell, audiences seemed finally to realise they had witnessed a spectacular event. For Aida never dies, neither does Radames: they soar into eternity, returning the next day for another show.
