From Sophocles to Hans Christian Andersen: Amal Choucri Catta traces a path from Greece to Denmark Trionfo di Afrodite and Carmina Burana: Munich Philharmonic Choir, Richard Strauss Conservatoire Percussion Ensemble, Cairo Opera Orchestra; conductor Adel Shalabi. Sayyed Darwish Theatre, Alexandria 29 September, 9pm; Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 1 October, 7:30pm and 2 October, 8pm October began with two fabulous concerts celebrating Carl Orff's 110th anniversary. Organised in cooperation with the German Embassy in Cairo and the Goethe Institute, the concerts combined the Munich Philharmonic Choir, directed by Andreas Hermann, the Richard Strauss Conservatoire Percussion Ensemble, Cairo's A Capella Choir directed by Maya Gvinneria, the chamber and the children's choir of the Deutsche Schule der Boromaerinnen and Alexandria and Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Adel Shalabi. The programme opened with the closing song from Orff's Antigonae, marvelously performed by Hungarian mezzo- soprano Susanne Tarr. Based on the Sophocles' play of the same name, Antigonae was created for the 1949 Salzburg Festival. Orff's treatment of the tragedy concentrates on sound and percussion, avoiding the kinds of musical structure and complex harmonic development the composer believed would dilute the mythological components of the work. Antigonae was followed by Orff's Trionfo di Afrodite, a scenic concert in seven parts written in 1951 and premiered in February 1953 at Milan's La Scala under Herbert von Karajan. A celebration of rhythmic vitality, the work is based on Latin and Greek texts by Catullus, Sappho and Euripides. Soprano Christina Arden, tenors Adrian Sandu and Markus Durst and baritone Matthias Ludwig gave splendid solo performances, with choir, orchestras and percussion clearly exalting in the magnificence of sound. Dessi Slava Kepenerowa, at the drums centre-stage, was a splendid virtuoso. The second part of the concert was entirely dedicated to Carmina Burana, with Austrian soprano Sabine Buechele and German baritone Mattias Ludwigs singing the solo sequences. They, along with the choir and orchestra, gave the best of their voices and musicality. The concert was conducted by Adel Shalabi, an Egyptian percussionist who has lived in Germany since 1979. Shalabi, currently teaching at the Richard Strauss Conservatoire in Munich, has received several prizes and, since 1990, has conducted over two hundred performances. He is a frequent visitor to Cairo, and regularly conducts one or other of the Opera's orchestras. Orff died in Munich in 1982, leaving amid his musical legacy the masterpiece that would ensure his popularity among audiences -- Carmina Burana, a scenic cantata in 25 movements for soprano, tenors and baritone, with choir and orchestra. The text is based on songs in Latin, German and French compiled from 13th century manuscripts found in the Benedectine monastery of Beuren. Fairy Tale Concert: Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conductor Frans Rasmussen with soprano Margarethe Dahl. Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 3 October, 8pm Cairo Symphony Orchestra's first concert of the new season, celebrating the bicentennial of Hans Christian Andersen, was organised by the Danish Embassy and performed under the patronage of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, with the Dane Frans Rasmussen conducting. Andersen was born in Odense on 2 April, 1805 and died in Copenhagen on 4 August, 1875. The depressive son of an illiterate washerwoman and a poor shoemaker, his parents struggled to ensure that he received an education. He swiftly fell in love with the theatre and, aged 14, left for Copenhagen to make a name for himself. One theatre manager was sufficiently impressed to send the awkward youth to school. Though Andersen hated the experience he matured rapidly into a promising author and poet. His fairy tale world inspired works such as Antonin Dvorak's magical opera Rusalka, Igor Stravinsky's Le rossignol and Le Baiser de la fée, and Brian Easdale's The Red Shoes, the Oscar-winning ballet score for Powell and Pressburger's celebrated film of the same title. The Andersen concert at Cairo's Main Hall opened with the lovely Helios Overture composed by Carl Nielsen in 1903. Author of three operas -- Snefrid, Saul and David and Maskarade -- as well as a number of works for incidental, chamber and orchestral music, Nielsen was being performed in Cairo for probably the first time. Helios was followed by Edvard Grieg's "I love thee", beautifully sung by soprano Anne Margarethe Dahl. Born in Norway and trained at the Royal Danish Academy of music, Dahl continued her studies in New York. She has a member of the Danish National Opera Company in Aarhaus since 1996. The programme continued with August Enna's overture to Andersen's The Little Match-girl and Il Norholm's "The Bell", with soloists Dahl and Mervat Mohsen reciting the tale at the musical intervals: a meditative, touching reading that enchanted the audience. In the second part of the concert the orchestra presented a variety of musical works ranging from Strauss's Fledermaus to Greshwin's Porgy and Bess, and closing with Nielsen's Oriental Festival March. Soprano Dahl, with her brilliant voice and powerful stage-presence, and conductor Rasmussen with his eloquent baton and charismatic personality, certainly left their mark.
