		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 June 2001 Issue No.537
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Pack of Cards

By Madame Sosostris

* Darlings, what luck! The Fine Wine Trio will visit Egypt from 11 to 18 June. This dynamic group was selected to be Ambassadors of Jazz by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the US State Department. It is one of several groups that will tour different parts of the world starting 31 May, after giving a kick-off performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on 30 May. The tour will take them to Morocco, Egypt, Zambia, Kenya and Jordan.

In Cairo the group will perform at the Open Air Theatre of the Cairo Opera House on 12 June, before visiting Alexandria, where they will be performing at the Yacht Club on 15 June. The Fine Wine Trio's performance is the very first event on the programme of a 12-Day Cultural Walk (a festival of art and music) scheduled to take place from 15 to 21 June and organised by the foreign missions and cultural centres in Alexandria under the patronage of the city's governor.

In addition to their performances, the trio will meet with local musicians and persons in the music and recording industry, to discuss topics related to copyright in the music industry.

Their concerts will include favourites that will please young and old and will have a special focus on the music of Louis Armstrong in celebration of the centenary of his birth.

* This spring is witnessing much activity at Cairo Opera House. Recently, a colloquium was organised at the Small Hall commemorating the 20th anniversary of poet Ahmed Rami's death. It included a poetry recital by a group of poets, who took part later in the interesting debate. Among others were Mohamed El-Tohami, Ahmed Shafiq Kamel, Sayed Hegab and Hassan El-Qorashi. Supervisor of cultural activities at the Small Hall Mohamed Salem and radio broadcaster Taher Abu Zeid led the discussion. The event also comprised a musical item performed by the National Arabic Music Ensemble and EgyptAir Troupe for Arabic Music. An exhibition of rare photos depicting Rami's long artistic career was also held. The commemoration was concluded with Umm Kulthoum's song Sahran Lewahdi (Staying up lonely) written by Rami, composed by El-Sonbati and sung on this fine evening by his son Ahmed El-Sonbati. Ahmed also talked about the strong friendship uniting Rami and his father and their unique relationship with the legendary singer Umm Kulthoum.

* On the same day, the Opera House celebrated Mulid Al-Nabi (the Prophet Mohamed's birthday) at the Main Hall. It presented a programme of religious songs performed by Al-Inshad Al-Dini troupe, conducted by Omar Farahat, Cairo Opera Company and Chorale and the Arabic Music Ensemble, conducted by Salah Ghoubashi. The event also featured the participation of singers Mohamed Rushdi, Abdallah Al-Ruweishid and others. The soirée was attended by a group of Arab ambassadors to Cairo, at the invitation of the director of the opera house, Samir Farag.



opening of Canaan's exhibition (top); the late Canaan at home (l); one of Canaan's paintings (r)

* At the Palace of Arts and the Modern Art Museum on the Opera grounds, an exhibition commemorating the first anniversary of painter Mounir Canaan's death, entitled "Egypt in the Eyes of Canaan," was inaugurated by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and head of the Fine Arts Section Ahmed Nawwar. Canaan's widow, my dear colleague Sanaa El-Bissi, editor in chief of Nisf El-Duniya hosted the event with her usual flair. The opening also gathered a galaxy of famous personalities: Al-Ahram Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of the Board Ibrahim Nafie, Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, veteran political analyst Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, director of the Opera House Samir Farag, curator of the exhibition Ahmed Fouad Selim and a group of painters and art critics. The exhibition, lasting for a month, displays 410 paintings produced by Canaan over 60 years.



mother and son duet (top); the happy couple (l); Sherif singing to Carine (r)

* What a lovely wedding that was! Last week sweet Carine, daughter of Engineer Moheb Abdallah and his charming wife Claudine, whispered "I do" to her handsome groom Sherif, son of ENT surgeon Raafat Guindy and Opera diva Nabila Erian.

Dina Iskandar, famous for her flower arrangements, had surpassed herself, decking St Mark's Church in Heliopolis with pure white roses and candles, a theme she revisited for the decoration of the Sonesta pool area where the wedding celebrations took place. The young couple had chosen Karl Orff's Carmina Burana to replace the traditional wedding march and the whole evening was marked by beautiful songs performed first by the groom's mother, the renowned Nabila Erian, who sang "The Love Theme" from A Star is Born, "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago, "Tonight" from West Side Story and "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady. Nabila then called her son to the podium and he joined his voice to hers in the duet "Save Your Love, My Darling, Save Your Love." Carine was not forgotten in this vocal feast and Sherif sang Abdel-Halim Hafez's famous song Naam Ya Habibi Naam only for her.

Of course, this lovely night was danced away with the help of celebrated DJ Hani Wahba.

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