Amal Choucri Catta regrets having been served another Masked Ball Verdi's Un ballo in maschera; Cairo Opera Company, Cairo Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet; cond Elio Orciuolo, choir master Aldo Magnato, dir Jehane Morsi. Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 15-17 and 19 May, 9pm We had been promised two new opera productions for this month: Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana had been planned since last season and are even mentioned in the Opera's yearly programme. Both one-act operas were to be directed by Jehane Morsi and performed by Egyptian and foreign singers. Regrettably, however, even though the performers had been coached and prepared, both operas were recently cancelled, with the promise, however, that they would be performed next year. Last-minute cancellations seem unfortunately to have become a habit at Cairo's opera house, due to "insufficient funds", or to "bad timing". It certainly goes without saying that, with adults and youngsters overwhelmed at this time of year with end of term exams, neither Pagliacci nor Cavalleria would have enjoyed the success they deserve. Better timing and better fund distribution should, however, be taken into consideration while planning the programme. With the exception of Arabic music concerts, the Main Hall is rarely filled this time of year. Promoting good Arabic music is a nationally important, laudable endeavour, for which Cairo Opera should be praised, but concentrating chiefly on Arabic music to the detriment of opera and symphony seems like closing a window to the world. Regrettably, that is what seems to be actually happening. Thus, Pagliacci and Cavalleria were replaced by four performances of Giuseppe Verdi's three-act opera Un ballo in maschera, premiered at the Main Hall 11 years ago and performed as recently as last June at the same venue, while operas like La Traviata or Il Trovatore, which are a part of the Cairo Opera Company's repertoire, have vanished. La Traviata, with its lovely melodies, lively atmosphere, dramatic moments and even with its tragic end, would have been far more welcome than the Ballo. If last year's Ballo was a success, this year's was something of a flop, with the exception of the 17 May performance starring Italian singers in the main roles: Mario Leonardi as Riccardo, Alfio Grasso as Renato and Fiorella Prandini as Amelia. Unlike in last June's Ballo, this time the small opening-night audience was given a somewhat disappointing performance of too much screaming and too little singing. Modern technical gadgets on stage, such as hidden microphones, are undeniably helpful to singers when it comes to lower pitches and weaker voices. These same gadgets, however, turn high pitches into a most disagreeable scream. Regrettably, this is what happened in this year's Ballo. The general conception of the performances remained identical to those of last June. Changes were mainly reserved for certain dances and for some of the sets. While director Jehane Morsi added colour and a splash of extravaganza to the rather drab scene, the king's throne -- the same old super-sized armchair in cobalt-blue and gold trimmings -- remained, as before, at a higher level, centre staged, signifying the monarch's eminence in this masked-ball-game. Once again the curtain opened on a golden, mask-studded backdrop, with prima ballerina Erminia Kamel performing a pas-de-trois to the nostalgic tune of Verdi's lovely prelude, while two dancers introduced the theme of love, deceit and death, subject of the Masked Ball. With a libretto by Antonio Somma, based on Eugene Scribe's text for Daniel Auber's drama Gustave III ou le bal masqué, and based, in turn, on historical events, the opera was premiered in Rome on 17 February 1859. The original action takes place in Stockholm in 1789, where King Gustav III is warned of a plot against his life by his faithful secretary, Captain Ankarstroem, with whose wife, Amelia, the king is secretly in love. When the renowned fortune-teller Arvidson is denounced for sorcery, the king visits her in disguise to test her powers for himself. Among those who consult the fortune-teller is Amelia, asking for advice on how to overcome her illicit passion for Gustav III. She is told to gather a herb at midnight at the foot of the public gallows. The king, hiding behind a rock, has overheard the conversation and decides to be there too. As the king shows himself after Amelia's departure, he asks the fortune-teller what she sees in his hand and is amused when she says that he is shortly to die, the killer being the first person to shake his hand. Making light of the omen, the monarch extends his hand to his courtiers, who shrink back. At the very moment, his faithful secretary bursts into the fortune-teller's cave and shakes his superior's extended hand. As Amelia is collecting herbs at midnight, she is surprised by the king and they confess their love, while Amelia's husband suddenly arrives to warn his king of an ambush. He urges the monarch to escape and promises to accompany the veiled lady to town without trying to seek her identity. As the king departs, the conspirators arrive insisting on unveiling the lady. Convinced of her adultery, the deceived husband decides to kill Amelia on the spot. He eventually relents, until she has seen her son one last time, and turns his bitterness against the king. When the conspirators reappear, Amelia is forced to draw lots which would decide who is to kill the monarch. Her own husband's name emerges. The next day, at a masked ball given by the king, a remorseful Gustav announces to Amelia his intention of sending her and her husband on an important foreign mission. But it is too late: his secretary steps between them and kills him. As he dies, the king pardons his enemies, while the killer discovers that Amelia's and the king's love had never been consummated, and the monarch, in making amends, had promoted him. That night, everyone realised, the fortune-teller's prediction had come true. When Verdi first submitted his libretto to San Carlo Theatre in Naples, the censor protested that the assassination of a king could not be shown on stage, and demanded that Verdi adapt his music to a new libretto. Verdi refused and left Naples, when an impresario in Rome offered to produce an altered version of the work: thus the locale was changed from 18th century Stockholm to 17th century Boston. Another version used at the Paris premiere in 1861 set the story in Naples. The names of the leading characters were likewise changed, from Gustav III of Stockholm to Riccardo Count of Warwick in Boston, and Riccardo Duke of Olivares in Naples. The secretary's name was changed to Renato and the fortune-teller's to Ulrica. As for Amelia, she remained the same in all three versions. Soprano Iman Mustafa sang the part of Amelia, while Walid Korayem sang the part of Riccardo as they did last year. They starred in three of the four performances, doing their best, though visibly suffering from a lack of sufficient rehearsal time. There is, however, in this sad tale of deception and death, a character blending comedy and humour with the tragic events, in the person of Oscar, the monarch's page, a part beautifully interpreted by young Dalia Farouk, a lovely soprano in boy's attire. She was witty, charming, delightfully captivating. In 1993 Mona Rafla premiered the role successfully: 11 years later, however, though she still performs perfectly she seems to have outgrown the part. Her ravishing voice and her lovely presence on stage would be better served in more demanding roles. In this year's Ballo, we were given a different soprano for each performance, which is really too much. Cairo Opera House is visibly trying to satisfy all singers: however, in so doing, it is leaving its audiences quite dissatisfied. This time, we were likewise given two Ulricas: mezzo sopranos Hala El-Shaboury and Jala El-Hadidi. The former did her best, which is not good enough: her transition from high pitch to the lower is quite unpleasant and her vocal performance is rather devoid of colour. On the other hand, the latter, though blessed with an enchanting voice, is far too young for such a demanding role: she neither has the presence nor the performing power the part requires. Last June, and prior to that, we had a magnificent Ulrica: mezzo soprano Hanan El-Guindy was a stupendous fortune- teller. She has captivated audiences as Amneris, Carmen, Azucena and other operatic heroines and is one of the most important Egyptian singers Cairo Opera House should be proud to count among its performers. It seems however, that the best singers are being chased away: though presently in Cairo, Hanan El- Guindy was not among the Ulrica performers in this Ballo -- unfortunately for the audiences who were given second-cast singers. Mustafa Mohamed gave us three performances of Renato. He is one of Egypt's best baritones, with a brilliant voice and beautiful timbre, though this time he was not quite convincing in the first part of Act III, which, in addition to colour, requires sincerity. He was putting on a rather superficial show, concentrating too much on singing and too little on convincing. As for Reda El- Wakil in the part of Samuel and Abdel- Wahab El-Sayed in that of Tom, they were, as always, excellent. The best performance of the show, however, was given by the choir under the direction of maestro Aldo Magnato, while the ballet performances were quite charming and the orchestra had its marvellous moments under the brilliant baton of Italian Elio Orciuolo. Hopefully, next season, audiences will be given La Traviata.
