Despite threats of war on the horizon, this year's production of Verdi's Egyptian opera Aida at the Pyramids brought in the crowds for a triumphant evening, writes Nabila Erian Dodging its way through near-deafening war cries, the Egyptian Aida has again reached the light of the stage at the foot of the Pyramids, the cradle of its birth, and indeed, the cradle of the whole of human civilization. Composed by Verdi for the opening of the Suez Canal, Aida is now the symbol of Egypt's will for peace, appearing this year in a triumphant restaging of a well-loved production. Not only is this year's Aida at the Pyramids a tour de force due to its being staged at all in the light of the world political situation, but mainly it is a triumph in its response to the world in its light- heartedness and courage. This is the first time since the production was staged at Luxor some years ago that so many foreign faces were to be seen in the audience, many of whom had come to Egypt specially for the event. A major achievement, this may explain why the production broke even this year despite the poor attendance of the Egyptian public, perhaps due to high ticket prices. Coordination was spectacular, and this year's show was the best ever organized in terms of traffic, security and emergency measures. The breathtaking and unique site used for the production, together with the cool breeze off the desert in the October air, made this Aida one of the greatest of all artistic spectacles. This year's production is a restaging of a production first put on a couple of years ago. Innovations, however, were supposed to have been introduced in the shape of new technologies, new lighting and a new sound system. These were supposed to have transformed the production. The private-sector company that had been contracted to provide these, however, failed to deliver, making the production rather more familiar than can have been intended. Nevertheless, the technological aspects of the show were praiseworthy enough, and Abdel- Moneim Kamel, the production's director, himself an ex-ballet dancer and now director of the Cairo Opera Ballet Company, enhanced the role of the ballet in the opera considerably. Originally, Verdi had intended the ballet sections in Aida to be additions, added-value to the music in the opéra-comique tradition founded by the French composer Lully. Yet, Kamel turned the ballet into a major feature of the production, adding a kind of resumé of the opera's action -- the triangle formed between Aida, Radames and Amneris. For some reason, the plot was explained to the audience by a narrator even before the main action started. Was there a fear that the audience would misunderstand what they were about to see? But Kamel's choreography and foregrounding of the ballet sequences was undoubtedly a good idea, helping to alleviate possible restlessness during the overture against such a vast backdrop. Kamel's addition of a further ballet sequence during the final burial scene was not such a happy idea. Though the choreography and dancing were flawless, and very touching, this sequence went against the grain of Aida's message. Amneris's grieving should be kept in the background, leaving front of stage to the final triumph of love and the inspiring farewell to the world of pain and valley of tears: o terr' addio, addio valle di pianti. The ethereal strains of Verdi's music carry with them a message of transcendence. Nevertheless, this ballet sequence, too, had its merits, becoming one of the most prominent features of the show, especially in the use of pageantry, and turning the whole into a kind of opera-ballet. Kamel's production also put Aida the opera in its proper perspective as a musical monument beyond place and time, something that was underlined by the magnificent setting. Its characters are epic, allegorical figures depicting the moral values of love, patriotism, treachery, heroism and vengeance. This emphasis on the opera's epic qualities necessitated static, almost abstract, scenery and staging, as well as hieratic stage movements. However, why were statues of the Ancient Egyptian god Anubis, together with wooden soldiers, added to some scenes, confusing the public as to whether the scene was taking place inside or out, and making Amneris seem to be going "outdoors" into the temple, and Aida and Radames to be meeting "indoors" in the forest? The lighting also caused some confusion as to day and night and regarding the relative importance of events and the meaning of dramatic musical climaxes. It is hard to understand why Kamel employed such frequent changes of colour-scheme, and why he had chosen to use modern shades of orange, mauve and turquoise -- which are not readily explicable in terms of the drama. What did the blue, mobile hemisphere represent? Was it the sun disk or the horizon? In any case, hung where it was, it succeeded only in obliterating the fabulous view of the Pyramids to be had from the audience, which was neglected when it could have been the visual focus of the evening. The costumes were a visual feast. Executed according to historic styles and very well made, they shone in red and gold. Perhaps they lacked variety -- they did not sufficiently differentiate priest, from warrior, from guard, or even from member of the populace -- and patches of contrasting colours might have better brought out the presence of the populace, which was otherwise missed, especially in the triumph scene. Movement was not always as clear as it might have been: one was not always sure where the soldiers were heading in triumph, for example, since they seemed to be going in all directions. Shouldn't they have entered the palace arena following the war with Radames? Instead, we got an ensemble ballet sequence, admittedly beautifully executed. Here, the dazzling, flowing robes of the protagonists were very attractive, especially when ruffled by the wind on the vast stage. The singing is the last feature of the production to be mentioned, since, in a tremendous spectacle-production such as this one, the voices of the protagonists, and the singing as a whole, are only parts of the overall effect. Because of the absence of programme notes, however, few people knew who the singers were, important as this is to opera fans. Nonetheless, the singing was excellent. The Egyptian singers were particularly fine, notably Iman Moustafa as Aida, Reda El- Wakil as Ramfis, Walid Karim as the Messenger and Gihane Fayed as Saccerdotessa. However, despite the imaginative qualities of Kamel's direction and the quality of the singing -- as well as the magnificent setting -- undoubtedly the real star of the evening was maestro Nader El-Abbassi in the conductor's pit. Fresh from Switzerland, El-Abbassi is a rising star of conducting in Egypt, having left Cairo some years ago to study in Switzerland, when he was known only as an accomplished instrumental player and composer, and returning some years later as a conductor. El-Abbassi conducted with great style and musicality, though perhaps sometimes too fast according to traditional performances of Aida. Sometimes, one felt that the orchestra played too loud, drowning out the singers, and sometimes one felt that el-Abbassi perhaps missed some of the stately qualities of Verdi's score, but this was a very distinguished interpretation. Finally, tribute should also be paid to the great number of people who worked backstage on this production of Aida, sharing in the work of making this year's staging of the opera at the Pyramids such a great success.
