Quality, not quantity, says Amal Choucri Catta "", "Lorkiana", "Bolero" and "Carmina Burana", Cairo Opera Ballet Company and Cairo Opera Orchestra, conductors Nader Abbassi and Taha Nagui, Director Abdel-Moneim Kamel. Venue: Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 24, 25, 27, 28 February, 8pm Opening night was a sorry sight with visibly exhausted star performers slipping to the floor, yet managing to land elegantly on their knees, and members of the corps de ballet executing all the wrong movements while desperately trying to get back in line. Youngsters in the audience giggled and adults breathed a sigh of relief when realising that the incidents had gone unnoticed by most. Cairo Opera Ballet's opening night at the Main Hall was, in deed, not the happiest: the magic was absent, likewise the euphoria, and the dancers seemed merely to be repeating movements they had often been executing in past performances. The audience would undoubtedly have been better served with a less extensive, less redundant programme. 's Third Act opened the first two nights, with Taha Nagui at the head of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, followed by Lorkiana and Bolero with Nader Abbassi conducting. Third and fourth nights opened with Carmina Burana, followed, once again, by Lorkiana and Bolero, with Nader Abbassi conducting orchestra, A Capella Choir and vocal soloists on the third night, while music was performed by playback on the fourth. The recordings were unfortunately of such bad quality that their turbulent decibels were shattering the audiences' eardrums and a number of dissatisfied guests decided to leave the auditorium at the first interval. The organisers would have been well advised to limit the number of performances to three nights only, with Carmina Burana and Bolero on programme, while eliminating 's Third Act and Lorkiana, both having been recently presented at the same venue -- Lorkiana in November 2004 and in January 2005. Boring repetition would thus have been avoided and the performances would have gained substantially. When Carmina Burana and Bolero were featured at the Main Hall, last year for three nights (on 15, 16 and 18 February 2004), members of the corps de ballet were in better shape, with star-conductor Nader Abbassi at the head of orchestra, A Capella Choir and vocal soloists: soprano Mona Rafla, baritone Mustafa Mohamed and tenor Hisham El-Guindy. The three returned again this time, for the third night only, adding, however, soprano Iman Mustafa for vocal solo sequences in Lorkiana. This time, the entire programme was undoubtedly hurriedly prepared: it was lacking in concentration, in motivation and in beauty. It must, however, be said, that of the four dances presented, Bolero and Lorkiana were the best performed. Egypt's Prima Ballerinas Nelly Karim and Lamiaa Abdel-Ghany were respectively cast as the heroine Soledad in Mark Mnatsakanian's Lorkiana, based on a tale by Garcia Lorca, with star dancers Ahmed Yehia and Serguey Bolonsky respectively as Torero and Ahmed Nabil as the Ghost. Lamiaa Abdel-Ghany is a lovely, vivacious, pure, trusting Soledad, heartbroken after the death of her lover. Each time she tries to gather the shreds of her shattered life, his ghost appears, stopping her from enjoying her remaining yeas on earth. Torn between her love for Torero and her loyalty to her dead sweetheart, she finally realises the latter will never set her free and chooses to join him in the netherworld. The plot had not changed, neither were there any alterations in sets and costumes. Soledad's long- sleeved, purple garment was, once again, a sober reminder of her doleful grief, and the black-and-brown costumes of the corps de ballet were as sedate and as elegant as ever. Movements in this dance are rather repetitive, as is the fascinating music: a renowned Spanish Malagueña, transformed into modern song around 40 years ago, and sung, among others and in several languages, by the celebrated Caterina Valente. Rhythm and melody are fabulous, likewise is the soprano solo: reminiscent of the arena and the Toro, of blood and sand and death, the high pitches seem like a cry for mercy. When the tune stops and the beat sets in, percussions have their heyday, while the dancers' heels hit the floor relentlessly. Dance and music are a marvelously harmonious pair; the audience loved both -- though they did seem to prefer the last dance on programme, Maurice Bejart's famous Bolero, created to the music of Maurice Ravel. The Bolero is a Spanish dance in 3-4 with a rhythm generally bearing a triplet on the second half of the first beat. It is exceedingly merry and impetuous, which is not the case of Ravel's Bolero, of Spanish character, though not of Spanish rhythm. The music is a single theme, repeated 16 times, with additional instrumentation at each repetition of the tune. The result is an enormous orchestral crescendo, while star dancer Nelly Karim, in top and tights, alone on a circular podium, twists and turns in rhythmic contortions and sensual movements, giving form to the music and life to the crescendo, as she seems to call on all male dancers sitting leisurely on chairs around the podium. While the music swells and the tune is repeated with disconcerting accuracy, the men rise slowly, in small groups, repeating the soloist's movements to the relentless beat, until all are encircling the podium. Suddenly the music breaks out of its pattern: the trance is shattered, the dancers fall to the floor as darkness sets in and the audience shouts heartfelt "Bravos". Nelly Karim is a fantastic star performer. Her movements are sensitive, fluent, voluptuous -- she looks and acts like an angelic Jezebel, innocent and evil at the same time. Young, beautiful and brilliant, she always gives her audiences excellent performances. This time, she did it again. As for Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, a much-loved ballet with an equally-loved musical score, it would have been better performed had the dancers been better prepared. The orchestra is always perfect with Nader Abbassi's bâton passionately evoking the overwhelming introduction when Fortune, Empress of the World, mercilessly turns her wheel while the poor souls "bemoan her wounds" and the choir sings "were all the world mine". Green ribbons and belts adorn the dancers' costumes while the tune announces the advent of Spring. Divided into three parts, the ballet is "in the tavern" for the second part and in the "court of love" for the third. While backdrops change colour and design, movements are rather repetitive and boring when the performance lacks quality, though they can be quite exciting when perfectly executed.
