Amal Choucri Catta with yet another of the opera's guiding lights 's name is well-known to all opera and music lovers, whether as Egypt's unmatched clarinet virtuoso, as professor of clarinet at the Cairo Conservatoire or as director of the Artistic Department of the Cairo Opera House. He has studied with renowned clarinetists and won several scholarships, performing as soloist in most of Eastern and Western Europe. He has toured with the Czech Zillena Orchestra in Austria and the Czech Republic, also performing with the Frankfurt Orchestra and chamber music ensembles in Germany and with the Russian Radio Orchestra, conducted by Amin Khatchaturian. He has made numerous recordings for the Egyptian and German Radio and taken part in many international events. Hamdy has always enjoyed excellent reviews in the local and foreign press and his audience never failed to applaud his performances. A little over 18 months ago, Opera House Director Abdel-Moneim Kamel appointed him director of the Artistic Department. Being a dedicated hard worker, he is happy with his position, he says, though, as he puts it, "like any other situation in life, this too has its ups and downs. "A person dedicating all his time to music, either studying, teaching or performing for eight to 10 hours each day, has to put all [his] energy into his work; he has to love it. Now I must admit I do feel that I am mainly a clarinetist and that the clarinet is the most important element in my career. I have been with my clarinet for 40 years and that is all I had expected from life. I really did not wish nor strive for anything else. However, in my new position, I am preoccupied by requirements of the department around 14 to 18 hours daily and I do spend around 11 to 12 hours each day at the office. Our chairman, Dr Abdel-Moneim Kamel, is not only the founder of the Cairo Ballet Company, but a specialist in music and the arts. He has directed operas, created ballets and proved himself a total artist. I therefore feel safe with him, knowing that the opera is in good hands. We have been preparing the programme for the coming season, celebrating the opera's 20th anniversary, which will hopefully be quite lovely." I asked Hamdy about the relations between his office as head of all the opera's departments, and the offices of the directors of each individual department. "We try to guide them and cooperate with them in the interest of the opera," he said. "Take, for instance, the idea of gala concerts. It started, at the time, with the intention of taking the 'opera orchestra' out of the pit and onto the stage, giving them the opportunity to perform works they cannot perform in the pit. We had in mind a programme of classical or romantic symphonies, as well as works by Egyptian composers, thinking they would be of use to the instrumentalists, who generally do not play this kind of music in the pit. However, after the gala concerts became exclusive to foreign singers and performers, we had to return to the original idea. On the other hand, we do have to give the director of the company breathing space, enabling him to realise his own ideas. "As for the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, we have a managing director, but we do not have an artistic director, and we do not know whether the new principal director will also be named artistic director. That is why, as you see, we do have to intervene from time to time, to straighten out matters. With regard to the situation of conductor Steven LIoyd, I must tell you that the relations between that maestro and members of the symphony orchestra was quite regrettable. There had been a number of misunderstandings between them and the musicians were generally dissatisfied with what they saw as arrogance on his part. Had he been strict and severe, it would have drawn them closer to him; his haughtiness separated them from him. Still, however that may be, we are now entering a new era, with the 20th anniversary of the Cairo Opera House coming up in the next season. "We are working closely with the directors of our different departments: ballet, opera, modern dance, orchestras, Arabic music and all the rest. At this point I would like to tell you that I do not feel I am a director directing directors, because an artist does not really have a director. After all, we are all artists collaborating for a better future for the Cairo Opera House and the arts in general. The most important event at the opera is when the curtain rises and the performer appears. Artists are quite conscious of their ego, and if I try to remove the ego from any artist, I am sure it will destroy him. When the artist comes on stage, he says 'I'. He does not say 'you' or 'they', but 'I'. You see, it is not easy to deal with artists, and those who deal with them have to understand their self- consciousness. I am dealing with them as an artist, not as a manager. The situation is really quite a delicate one. "Now, let me tell you about our summer performances: we shall have a number of shows at the Citadel, a very popular venue, with up to 250,000 viewers in recent years. Some of these shows and concerts will also be repeated at the opera's open air theatre. The Citadel is an important venue, where we try to give young orchestras and bands as well as young soloists the opportunity to perform on a stage facing an audience, so as to let them gain experience and register reactions. This summer we are presenting, once again, some light, symphonic music, as well as melodies from musicals, with Nayer Nagui and the festival orchestra. We shall also have a number of local and foreign vocal and dancing performances, as well as folk dancers. "In closing, I would like to mention that, as you know, there is no Opera House in the world with 12 companies presenting quite so many performances and recitals as Cairo Opera Company, which is playing a major part in Egypt's cultural life. We carry the responsibility of classical and chamber music, of ballet, of dance theatre and modern dance, of solo recitals, promoting young talents and motivating them while preparing them for artistic careers. I would like everyone to realise that the Cairo Opera House presents over 800 performances a year, and up to 60 performances a month. There is a great effort behind our work and I do wish all Egyptians would appreciate what we're doing and realise its importance..."
