10 - 16 January 2002
Issue No.568
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 10 - 16 January 2002 Issue No.568 |
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Pack of CardsLast month, the new production of Salah Jahin's classic operetta Al-Leila Al- Kebira, was presented by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company at the Opera House's main hall. There were five performances, all of them met with the greatest enthusiasm. A smash hit, my darlings, no less. Over a thousand children of all ages watched the show, organised by the Ministry of Culture as part of its celebration of Childhood Day. Mrs Suzanne Mubarak joined them in celebrating the occasion and praised the operetta, which was attended by high-ranking state officials, including Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, Minister of Information Safwat El-Sherif and Education Minister Hussein Kamel Bahaaeddin as well as governors, prominent media personalities and press figures.
Speaking to the culture minister, Mrs Mubarak said the show should tour Egypt's governorates and be performed abroad as an example of Egypt's popular heritage and folk culture. She also asked the director of the Opera House, Samir Farag, to run the performance on a regular basis and produce other similar works such as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. |
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The new year ushered in new activities at the Cairo Opera House with the inauguration of a new art gallery inside its music library. The gallery is a two-storey building that can take up to 50 large and 20 small works of art, whether paintings or sculpted works. Now all Egypt's gifted artists will be able to find enough space to show their works. An exhibition of artist Kawthar El- Sherif, a department head at the Ministry of Education, was the first artist to open a show at the gallery. The inauguration was attended by Minister of Education Hussein Kamel Bahaaeddin; Osama El-Baz, political adviser to President Mubarak, who always makes it a point to attend the most important art exhibitions; director of the Mubarak Library Abdel- Raouf El-Reedy and director of the opera house Samir Farag, among others.
Touring several Asian and European countries as well as the United States, El-Sherif's work has struck critics with its insight. In some of her paintings, she uses evocative symbols from our cultural heritage. The exhibition runs until 13 January.
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It's that time of the year again: at Pyramisa Hotel, the Art of Cinema Association, headed by Abdel-Moneim Saad, held its annual meeting at which it awarded its special prize, the People's Oscar, to TV serials screened during Ramadan 2001. The ceremony started with a song recital by Maged El-Qasim and Wisam Said. Then the award of best actor was granted to Yehia El-Fakharani, Nur El- Sherif, Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Khalil, Youssef Shaaban, Nabil El- Halafawi, Riyad El- Kholi and promising actors Mustafa Shabaan, Ahmed Zaher and Ahmed El-Feshawi. Awards for best actress went to Laila Elwi, Magda Zaki, Elham Shahin, Dalal Abdel- Aziz, Fadia Abdel- Ghani and Ghada Abdel- Razeq, among others. Best scriptwriter went to Youssri El-Guindi, Magdi Saber and Mohsen Zayed, while awards for best director were given to Mohamed Fadel and Mohamed El-Noqali. Awards for best TV presenter were granted to Tarek Allam, George Kerdahi, Mustafa Yassin, and dynamic TV announcers Dina Ramez and Hala Sarhan. Finally, the prize for best production was given to the Radio and Television Union, represented by its head Hassan Hamid, for all the programmes produced and aired during the month of Ramadan.
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At Media Production City, a press conference was held to announce that filming the popular worldwide TV programme Who Will Win A Million was about to start. Shooting will take place at Media City's studios, and an interior was especially designed for the programme resembling that of the original show. The conference was attended by the programme's handsome and eloquent Lebanese presenter George Kerdahi, chairman of the board of Media Production City Abdel-Rahman Hafez, and announcer Nashwa El- Roweini, head of Middle East TV in Cairo, who stressed that the development of the programme will depend fully on its Egyptian technicians.
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It seems that our new state minister for the environment Mamdouh Riad is as active as our dear former minister Nadia Makram Ebeid. He visited the governorate of Fayoum to share in the celebrations of Fayoum's ninth Tree Day. The minister was accompanied by Governor of Fayoum Saad Nassar and Ibrahim Abdel-Gelil, head of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Association (EEAA). This year, Minister Riad offered the governorate 5,000 saplings to be planted along the Cairo- Fayoum road. The event was also an occasion to honour Magdi Allam, director-general of the Greater Cairo and Fayoum branches of the EEAA, as well as Mustafa Foda, director of nature reserves, and the promoters of the environmental improvement project.
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Our dear George Bahgory (I am sure that, like me, you are fond of his caricatures and drawings, which appear regularly in this paper) will be launching his new painting exhibition at Mashrabiya Gallery on 13 January. It will be open till 7 February. Apparently George has turned his attention to the different "States of the Body," the title of his exhibition, studying the effects of light on the human physique. If I know my friend, I think that we are in for some wonderful surprises.
Bahgory as seen by artist Ayman El-Gazwi |
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Children and their parents alike found the show extremely entertaining, wishing it could last for ever. Their wish, or at least part of it, will apparently come true: a repeat performance is scheduled for February.
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