Amal Choucri Catta enjoys a concert in lyric mood Italian opera highlights, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, cond. Nayer Nagui, with soprano Iman Mustafa and bass-baritone Reda El-Wakil. Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 20 May, 9pm. Verdi made a powerful appearance on Saturday night at Cairo Opera's Main Hall. The programme had been submitted to several changes, bringing Nayer Nagui onto the podium. This was not his first experience with the instrumentalists and it must not be his last. The Italian conductor Elio Orciuolo was originally scheduled, and when he cancelled the Opera turned to their best local hope, Nagui, who is undoubtedly on his way to fame and glory. He opened the concert with the stupendous overture to Verdi's La forza del destino, giving his audience a powerful version of the love and death, hatred and vengeance, crime and punishment, portrayed in one of Verdi's most eloquent preludes. The vocalists for the night were bass-baritone Reda El-Wakil and soprano Iman Mustafa, both of whom had just ventured out of the very demanding Don Giovanni, to which, incidentally, they will be returning in mid-June. El-Wakil opened the vocal part with Infelice! E tu credevi from Verdi's four-act Ernani, the sad tale of Don Juan de Aragon who, having been outlawed, stabs himself on his wedding night, since that is what a gentleman must do. He was followed by Iman Mustafa with the famous aria Vissi d'arte, from Puccini's Tosca. She is a rich, sad lady, who has lived for art and love, giving generously to charity, never forgetting her prayers. Yet destiny is giving her a hard time, and as her voice soars mightily above the orchestra she pleads for mercy from God. There was sorrow and sadness in Mustafa's voice and unlimited resignation as she begs for heavenly assistance. Puccini returned, this time with a lovely orchestral piece, the symphonic Intermezzo opening Act III at the harbour where Manon has been arrested and condemned to deportation, in Manon Lescaut. Here the cello sent sad tunes into the air, mesmerising the audience. Amilcare Ponchielli, the Italian author of a number of lesser-known operas, created several lovely tunes and toyed with exotic, unusual styles. From his four-act opera La Gioconda El-Wakil returned to sing "Yes, to die is her doom", an eloquent solo, which he managed impressively. El-Wakil is Egypt's most popular bass-baritone, winner of several international competitions, including the 1994 Placido Domingo Competition in Paris, the International Competition of Paris the same year, and the International Competition of Toulouse, likewise in 1994. His repertoire includes more than 20 operas and he performs in venues such as the Opera Bastille in Paris, the Opera Comique, the Theatre du Capitole in Toulouse, and in venues in Avignon, Nimes, Montpellier, Palm Beach Florida, in Bulgaria, England, Italy, Germany, Poland and Santiago de Chile, among others. The overture of Verdi's five-act The Sicilian Vespers opened the second part of the concert, a dark, extraordinary work. With the Vespers Verdi gave his attention to a new conception of French grand opera: there is mastery in the development of personal relationships against the background of powerful national and dynastic events. The impact of the tunes is enormous, and the orchestra gave its best under the Nagui's baton. Puccini then returned with Geisha Cio-Cio-San's beautiful aria "One fine day we shall see", from Madama Butterfly, sung by Iman Mustafa. She was followed by El-Wakil singing O tu Palermo terra adorata from the Sicilian Vespers, which was followed by Ponchielli's "Dance of the hours" from La Gioconda. The music is performed at the end of Scene VI of Act III, when Alvise Badoero, one of the heads of the State Inquisition, invites his guests to watch a ballet. The dancers are divided into four groups who portray the eternal struggle between dark and light, between good and evil. The Maestro was visibly pleased with the orchestra and the orchestra pleased with the music: an atmosphere of enchantment remained in the hall as the applause finally subsided. Verdi's Forza del Destino returned to close the concert: it was the aria from Scene VI Act IV, when Leonora leaves the grotto where she is hiding. The sun has set, the scene gradually darkens as the moon rises brightly. She sings "Pace, pace mio Dio". It is a beautiful aria suited to Iman Mustafa's voice. Forza del Destino is based on the drama Don Alvaro o la fuerza del sino by the Spaniard Angel de Saavedra Ramirez de Banquedano, Duke of Rivas, and on a scene from the Friedrich Schiller's drama Wallenstein's Lager. The four-act opera was premiered in St Petersburg in November 1862. Its tale of love and death, pride, honour and revenge and the price to be paid for treason, has ensured it continued popularity. Nagui was born in Alexandria in 1970. He joined the Alexandria Conservatoire, furthered his musical studies at Cairo Opera House, and in 1996 obtained the advanced certificate of the Royal Schools of Music, London, in both piano and music theory. Nagui studied conducting with Dominique Ruits at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, where he obtained his diploma in conducting. His debut in opera was in 2003, and he started conducting symphonic works a year later. Nagui, a pianist and composer, is also the founder and head of the 160 member Cairo Celebration Choir. He is one of Egypt's most promising musicians, and that promise was certainly fulfilled at this concert.
