Verdi's Aida moved back to the Pyramids

Rehab Saad

"Aida has taken its time in Luxor, where we tried it three times: in 1987 near the Luxor temple on the eastern bank of the Nile and in 1994 and 1997 in front of the Hatshepsut temple on the western bank," said Hassan Kami of the Cairo Opera House. "It is high time that Aida took off again back to the Pyramids where Verdi imagined it taking place."

Declaring that Luxor will not host Aida again, Kami said the Pyramids will be its final home.

"We intend to have other events for Luxor, such as Mozart's Magic Flute. The sacred lake at the Karnak Temple is a likely site," he added.

One possible reason for shifting Aida back to the Pyramids is the desire to stamp out the memory of last November's Luxor massacre. "We do not want to remind people of the massacre which took place in front of the Hatshepsut temple and left dozens of tourists dead," said Ilhami El-Zayyat, head of the Egyptian Travel Agencies Chamber.

According to El-Zayyat, selling Aida in Cairo will be an easier job for travel agencies. "Although Luxor is a magnificent setting, Aida did not work out there. Cairo has a big foreign community and also many hotels and the Pyramids are more easily accessible than the Hatshepsut temple," he said.

El-Zayyat pointed out that most travel agencies will market the event. "We do not care much about the revenue. What we do care about is that such an annual event should not stop. If Aida continues to be staged annually, I believe that we will benefit financially in the long run," he said.

Kami said that last year's Luxor production covered its expenses and also provided Egypt with free promotion before and after the performance.

"We have learned from past experience and now know how to make a big production with lower expenses," Kami said. "This year, we are planning to spend $2.75 million, about 30 per cent less than last year."

He said the revenue from last year's production amounted to $3.5 million.

Preparations for the October production are in full swing at the Opera House. Moreover about 10 public relations companies are promoting the event abroad. "There are also 26 ticket outlets in Europe. Travel agencies will have a big role as well as the Egyptian Tourism Authority which will promote it through its offices abroad," said Kami. There are already two sponsors for the event: EgyptAir and Accor Hotels, and four others will be contracted.

"The theatre will seat about 3,400 spectators," Kami said. "There are plans to increase this number next year."

Opera singers Lucia Mazaria, Maria Guleghina and Leona Mitchell will play Aida and Vladimir Galouzine and Nicola Martinucci will play Radames, Aida's lover. Prices for the gala opening performance will range from $100 to $250 and those of the other performances will vary from $75 to $200.

In 1987 Aida was staged twice, both at the Pyramids and in Luxor. But the setting of this year's production will be slightly different from the 1987 production at the Pyramids. "This time Aida will be 500 metres away from any monument or building," said Kami. "It will be staged in the back area of the Pyramids which is vast and can be used for big productions. We are just using the Pyramids as background. In 1987, the threatre was built inside the sanctuary of the Sphinx. This can never happen again for we have to preserve our monuments."

According to Opera House officials, this year's production will not have a foreign director but an executive director only, who is Egyptian. "We are going to imitate last year's production," Kami said. "This will be done by Abdel-Moneim Kamel of the Opera House, who will have six assistants."

The orchestra will be Egyptian and the choir will include Egyptians and Italians.

"We have big plans for the future," Kami said. "We will try next year to build a bigger theatre, to get better performers and to improve the production by getting real horses for the war scenes. Next year's production will be three times as large as this year's."