CAIRO - After having been in limbo for three months due to the Egyptian revolution, the Cairo Opera House has opened again with Tchaikovsky's ‘Swan Lake' in the Main Hall. It was Tchaikovsky's first ballet, considered by many as one of the greatest classical ballets of all times. Its romance and beauty has mesmerised audiences for over hundred years. ‘The Lake of the Swans' was composed in 1876 and received its premiere in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, but it was not received well. Although several versions exist, most ballet companies stage it according to the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, created for the St. Petersburg performance in 1895. The work was followed by Tchaikovsky's ‘Sleeping Beauty' in 1890 and ‘The Nutcracker' in 1892.‘Swan Lake' is traditionally presented in four acts, culminating in the death of the heroine. Yet, over the years, modifications and changes were introduced to the work. Director Abdel-Moniem Kamel makes good use of Petipa's and Ivanov's choreography, shortening the work to three acts instead of four and introducing a happy end. ‘Swan Lake' begins at a royal court. Prince Siegfried, heir to the kingdom, must declare at his birthday ball that he has chosen a wife. Siegfried is upset that he cannot marry for love, escapes into the night and makes for the forest. He sees a flock of swans flying overhead and sets off in their pursuit. When one of the swans comes into view, he stops. Before him is a beautiful creature dressed in white feathers, more woman than swan. Entranced, they dance together, and Siegfried learns that the swan maiden is the Princess Odette. An evil sorcerer, Von Rothbart, has captured her and used his magic to turn her into a swan by day while she can be a woman by night. Once Siegfried knows her story, he takes great pity on her and falls in love. As he begins to swear his love to her, an act that will render the sorcerer's spell powerless, Von Rothbart himself appears. Siegfried threatens to kill Von Rothbart but Odette intercedes. If Von Rothbart dies before the spell is broken, it can never be undone. The Prince returns to the castle and attends the ball. Von Rothbart arrives in disguise with his own daughter Odile. He has made Odile look identical to Odette in every sense except that she wears black rather than white. The Prince mistakes her for Odette, dances with her and proclaims to the court that he intends to make her his wife. Only a moment too late, Siegfried sees the real Odette and realises his mistake. Siegfried returns to the lake and finds Odette. He makes a passionate apology and she forgives him. Von Rothbart appears and tries to pull the lovers apart. Siegfried struggles with Von Rothbart and tears off one of his wings, thereby destroying his powers. Siegfried has broken the spell and marries Odette. Commenting on what I saw, I can say that the performance was magnificent and remarkable, particularly the Egyptian dancer Ahmed Yehia, who played the part of Prince Siegfried. The other Egyptian dancers also performed well; there was great accuracy in their movements and steps. Petipa created gestures like palm twisting, head movements and footsteps to make the dancers look like swans. This performance concentrated mainly on solos rather than the dramatic aspect of the ballet, which became particularly obvious in Acts I and III. However, Act II was full of drama, especially the scene on the bank of the lake where Prince Siegfried sees a white swan turn into a beautiful maiden. This act had many splendid moments, above all in the subtle and tender performance of the four swans, which received great applause. What surprised me was the sudden change in dancers. Hani Hassan was supposed to play the role of the magician, and the audience was shocked to see he had been replaced without prior notice. Nevertheless, I can't deny that I was completely taken by Ali Mamdouh's wonderful interpretation of the Clown role, as we are used to seeing it performed by foreign dancers. All in all, the audience was impressed, and Sahar Helmi got great applause for the Spanish dance, yet I had to wonder why there were not more Egyptian dancers, and why the leading roles were always performed by foreigners. I know we have excellent Egyptian dancers, like the wonderful ballerina Manal Zakaria, who used to perform the black swan most beautifully. The whole question needs investigating. What also added to the ballet's success were the costume design by Marina Martzenko, make up by Salwa Hussein, lightening by Yasser Shaalan and sound by Khaled Darwish. As for the music, the pillar of this ballet, conductor Nayer Nagui and his orchestra were not up to the task. Some of the more popular pieces were fine, but the introductory part for example was out of sync and lacked harmony. “Swan Lake”, staged also at the Alexandria Opera House, Sayyed Darwish Theratre this week, had not been presented by the Cairo Opera House for over eight years. I want to thank Nayer and his orchestra for their efforts. My appreciation goes to a marvelous performance, boding well for a return of the Russian Ballet Season.
