In what was dubbed a historical event, the Cairo Opera House's choir, ballet and symphony orchestra staged their first China performance of Giuseppe Verdi's classic opera "Aida at Beijing's new landmark Opera House. The show was staged for four consecutive nights last month as a run-up to the launch of the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games. "Beijing s new Opera wanted Egypt specifically, Nader Abbassi, principal conductor of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra told Daily News Egypt. This wasn't the first time for Abbassi and the Cairo Opera House's cast and crew to perform "Aida outside Egypt. The company had previously participated in the famous Thessaloniki Opera Festival in Greece, attended by nearly 6,000 viewers. Three quarters of the orchestra comprised Chinese performers in addition to their Egyptian counterparts. Soloists were Egyptian, Italian and Greek, while the ballet was entirely cast with Egyptian dancers. The stunts, however, were handled by Chinese experts. "China rarely stages 'Aida' yet their musicians are hard-working, dedicated and whatever you tell them, they do it right away. Technically speaking they are perfect, yet I had to work with them concerning the tradition of Aida, said Abbassi. Egyptian bass-baritone Reda El Wikeel, who played Ramfi, attributed the success of the show to Abdel Moneim Kamel's direction, in addition to first-rate stage mechanisms that facilitated movement. These factors, as well as the superb set design, had "Aida yield the highest ticket sales at the Beijing Opera House since its inauguration six months ago. "Our Egyptian production was highly professional, on par with European productions. It felt good to be able to compete internationally, El Wikeel told the Daily News Egypt. Egyptian soprano Iman Mustapha, who played Aida, told Daily News Egypt "The show was very successful. The character of Aida and Egyptians as a whole share the same passionate, intense feelings of love and patriotism. Hanan El Guindy who played Amneris, was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reaction of the multitude of foreign audiences who attended the performance. "You know that Europeans would not praise you if you are not up to the standard. It was surprising to hear from more than one foreign tutor that Egyptian opera voices are rarely found elsewhere, she said. The performance was, in fact, so successful that Opera Beijing enlisted Abbassi to help them set the new season's repertoire. "It was a challenge for me to go to China. They are developed in nearly every field, yet the way they admired how I work and how professional the rest of the cast worked led to the fact that they asked me if we could perform 'Aida' once a year in their repertoire, Abbassi said. "That made me very proud thinking how prestigious it is to Egypt and to all of us. El Guindy believes that the success of "Aida will put Egyptian musicians and singers in the spotlight. "It's about time that Egyptian singers be known internationally; I personally believe we performed better than the Greeks in this production. We could be a developing country, yet art and talent know no boundaries. El Guindy said. Abbassi, El-Wikeel, El-Guindy and Gamal all agreed that the experience helped them make note of some defects, in addition to coming up with new ideas for improvement. El-Guindy, who often performs abroad, believes that performing "Aida is the highlight of her career. "Standing on the stage, I gazed at audience and knowing that most of us were Egyptians it was an elevating feeling I can hardly explain in words. All 2,400 tickets were sold out every night. Abbassi added, "The Egyptian production of 'Aida' in China is and will become an artistic monument in the history of Egypt and the world. I can assure you; we all did a great job for ourselves and for Egypt.
