Amal Choucri Catta sees no language barrier when the talk is of passion Le Nozze di Figaro, four-act opera by Mozart, sung in Arabic. Directed by Abdalla Saad, with Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted by Sherif Mohieddin, Cairo Opera Company and Choir directed by Aldo Magnato. Venues: Main Hall Cairo Opera House, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23 March, 8pm. Sayed Darwish Theatre, Alexandria, 30 and 31 March, 8pm. When Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro was premiered in Arabic at Cairo's new Opera House in the 1980s, at the instigation of the late Maestro Youssef El-Sissi, it turned into an international event. It was the first lyric production created by the recently established National Cultural Centre, attracting local and foreign media and TV companies whose attention was roused by the Arabic version of the opera originally written in Italian. Little did foreigners know that three of Mozart's operas -- Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro and Cosi Fan Tutte -- had been translated into Arabic several years earlier by Ali Sadeq and recorded in London. Figaro returned to the opera's Main Stage and to the Gomhouriya Theatre several times in later years, both in Arabic and Italian before disappearing from Cairo's musical scene. In 1988-1992 Mozart's Marriage of Figaro was primarily created at Cairo's Opera House to commemorate the composer's death in 1791, while the six Cairene and two Alexandrian performances currently on programme are considered as forerunners celebrating the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birthday in 2006. Dates of births and deaths of mega-musicians such as Verdi, Beethoven, Wagner, Rossini and others, have always been pompously celebrated around the world, and Mozart is no exception. Born in Salzburg on 27 January 1756, he has to this day a lasting effect on the world of music. Author of over 20 operas -- among which are titles as surprising as The Goose of Cairo, Thamos, King of Egypt and The Shepherd King -- Mozart wrote several hundred concertos, symphonies, instrumental solos, church and chamber music, vocal and choral music, sonatas and songs. Though he demonstrated an acute appreciation of the conventions of all contemporary styles of opera, he developed them by adopting the formal and textural principles of the sonata, the symphony and the concerto, which were, themselves, in turn, imbued with the spirit of vocal music in their melodic shaping and expressive content. Mozart rose above his contemporaries not only because of his mastery of musical craft, but because he possessed the supreme skill of being able to transform stock stage events into reflections of human life, marking the vanity and folly of the proud and ignorant, and commiserating with the unfortunate and wronged. A shrewd observer of human life, he reshaped the familiar themes of love, loyalty, revenge and hatred in a manner which deepened and enriched the experience of audiences not only in his own lifetime, but for all succeeding ages. Mozart died in Vienna on 5 December 1791, aged 35, and was buried with others in a common grave. The circumstances of his death have given rise to many sensational theories and there is, to this day, a lot of medical speculation on the cause of his death. Italian, rather than German opera being "en vogue" in Vienna at the time, it was in an optimistic mood that Mozart embarked upon Le Nozze di Figaro in 1786. The choice of a text by Vienna's most gifted librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte, was bold: based on La folle journée ou le mariage de Figaro by French playwright and amateur musician Pierre Augustin Caron de Baumarchais -- who is also the author of The Barber of Sevilla -- Mozart and da Ponte stripped the work of its inflammatory content, while replacing its political message and social satire by a deep concern for the inter-relationships of the sharply contrasting characters and their eventual reconciliation in some profound and perceptive music. The plot, however, is not devoid of naughtiness, as it centres on whether the philandering Count Almaviva will succeed in exercising his "droit du seigneur" by bedding the maid Susanna before her marriage to his butler, Figaro. This time, at the head of Cairo's Opera Orchestra, Sherif Mohieddin was enthusiastically greeted by the audience in the Main Mall: before leaving for Alexandria's Bibliotheca, he had been managing director of the orchestra from 1995 to 2001, increasing the number of musicians from 50 to 103, and had taken the orchestra on several successful foreign tours. Mohieddin conducted instrumentalists and vocalists masterfully, enhancing Figaro 's vivacity with a seemingly effortless emphasis on tempo, while stimulating the joyful spirit and turning romantic or passionate according to the plot's requirements. Vocalists were of no trouble to the Maestro, as most of them had already performed their respective parts on previous occasions. Soprano Nevine Allouba was a much-loved, much-courted Contessa Almaviva, the main heroine of the opera's four acts: she is one of the company's finest Divas. Her aria "then come, my heart's delight", in the garden scene of Act IV, was particularly moving. The rather long four acts of the plot, comprising a multitude of recitative sequences accompanied by David Hales on the harpsichord, featured baritones Mohamed Mustafa and Elhamy Amin respectively in the role of Figaro, with sopranos Taheya Shamseddin and Mona Rafla respectively in the role of Susanna, the Contessa's dedicated maid. The four were delightful performers with lovely voices and a charming presence on stage, often coupled with some smooth and witty acting. Baritone Elhamy Amin is a real master of comedy never ceasing to fascinate his audience. Bass-baritone Reda El-Wakil was, as always, a ravishing Count Almaviva, changing into fabulous costumes for each scene: a "bon viveur" he wanted Susanna for himself before handing her over to Figaro, though, at the same time, he did not want to hurt the Contessa's feelings with his multiple romantic escapades. A jealous husband, in constant anguish of his wife's possible infidelity, he mercilessly persecuted the young page Cherubino who passionately courted the Contessa. Respectively interpreted by three mezzo-sopranos: Jehane El- Nasser, Hala El-Shabury and Jala El-Hadidi, poor Cherubino has never been as badly performed as he was this time. Though the three mezzos did their best, none was as good as Jehane Fayed had been 14 years ago, or as Hanan El-Guindy had been several years later. Which brings us to the question we have been asking for some time: why did mezzo-soprano Jehane Fayed and her beautiful timbre disappear from the opera's stage? One of the great Prima Donnas of Cairo's opera house, golden- voiced mezzo-soprano Hanan El Guindy was cast this time as Marcellina, wife of Don Bartolo, the Contessa's former guardian, interpreted by bass-baritone Abdel-Wahab El-Sayed. Both were lovely to look at and as lovely to hear. When they discovered they were Figaro's parents, it was time to set the date for the young butler's marriage to Susanna, regardless of the Count's final consent. Mezzo soprano Jolie Fawzy was respectively cast as a rather disappointing Marcellina, while tenor Tamer Tewfik interpreted the role of Don Basilio and baritone Emad Adel sang the part of Antonio the gardener. Filled with shady, absurdly complicated situations, the plot finally disentangles and the Count is reunited with his Contessa, while Figaro marries his beloved Susanna and everybody is happy at the end of that "folle journée" or "crazy day". Singing opera in Arabic is not an easy experience: some of the interpreters had difficulty with the diction, though most of them did quite well and all did their best. What did not go well, however, was the immense stage with the heavy sets, reminiscent of Italian opera and a few left-overs from Figaro's original furniture. Abdalla Saad did not have a happy hand this time. But audiences did not seem to mind: most of them loved the entire show, enjoying every minute of the plot and applauding their favourite star performers.
