Al-Ahram Weekly Online 18 - 24 April 2002 Issue No.582
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Pack of Cards By Madame Sosostris * Even the crows in Gamil Shafik's drawing are stunned by what is happening to the Palestinians. A baby bird asks his mother: "Is there no fairness in the world?" The others, having grasped the extent of the injustice done to a dispossessed people, look to the heavens, hoping that their voices, raised in shrill cries of protest, will be heard.

* What good news! My colleague Reham El- Adawi told me that world-renowned Egyptian maestro Nader Abbassi has been named director of the Cairo Opera Symphony, succeeding the gifted maestro Sherif Mohieddin, who now becomes the director of the department of artistic activities at the Alexandria Library. Abbassi is busy nowadays drawing up a new plan to upgrade the artistic activities of the orchestra, which will be discussed with the director of the Cairo Opera House, Samir Farag. At the Cairo Conservatoire, Abbassi began his musical studies in bassoon and composition and was the pupil of the late composer Gamal Abdel-Rehim. In 1987, he began his graduate studies at the Geneva Conservatoire in bassoon and singing and received the Prix de Virtuosité from the Conservatoire of Geneva. In 1999, he received another diploma in conducting from Lyon, France. Abbassi, who has performed in Japan, Spain and France, has also played bassoon with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, besides performing as a soloist with the Suisse Rome Orchestra. His activities as a singer cover a wide range of works by Handel, Schubert, Strauss and Stravinsky. He received several awards from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, including first prize in bassoon and percussion performance and first prize in composition for chamber music and symphonic orchestra. Among Abbassi's compositions is Al-Afw Ya Sid Al-Milah, a rearrangement of the original theme using different instruments and with the addition of Western harmonic and polyphonic elements derived from the spirit of the original work.

* Under the auspices of Egyptian Ambassador to Greece Magda Shahine, the Egyptian Cultural Centre in Athens held a most interesting exhibition on Coptic textiles and graphics related to the city of Alexandria between the 15th and 19th centuries. The exhibition was attended by head of the centre Hisham El-Asmar and Professor Harry Zallas, head of the mission excavating the coasts of Alexandria. It comprised 86 textile pieces as well as drawings of the mediaeval port.

* The Managing Director of Abercrombie and Kent Egypt and Middle East, Amr Badr, held an intimate and friendly farewell dinner in honour of Gaballa Ali Gaballa, former secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and current archaeological consultant at the Ministry of Culture. The elegant dinner, held at Badr's residence, was attended by key travel industry management and ministry officials, newly appointed Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Al- Ahram Weekly's guest columnist Zahi Hawass, director of the Mubarak Library Abdel-Raouf El-Reedy, tourism expert Elwi Farid, veteran actor Osama Abbas, and director of the American University in Cairo Publishing Office Mark Linz.

* At her private atelier in Maadi, the Indian artist Shahla Vinita Karim put on her sixth exhibition in Egypt, which continues until the end of the month. The artist told me she has been "stepping from one landscape to another" and steeping herself "in the beauty and variety of each country in search of the inner joy it offers." Shahla uses a variety of media, such as watercolor, acrylic and oil, and draws on diverse themes reflecting her native Indian heritage and Western art education. The artist, who studied fine art in Sweden, participated in several exhibitions in India, Bangladesh, Sweden and Egypt. Four years ago, Shahla came to Egypt and continues to be inspired by the country's heritage, popular districts, deserts and vibrant character.

* At the exhibition hall of the office of the Hungarian cultural counsellor in Abdin, an exhibition of satiric drawings titled Talking Lines by Elisabeth Bundics-Abdallah was inaugurated recently. This artist studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, then worked for several newspapers as a freelance artist. Her works can be found in galleries and private collections in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, America and Egypt. In 1970, Elisabeth arrived in Cairo with her Egyptian husband and daughter, soon receiving Egyptian citizenship. The exhibition runs through 23 May.

* After the smashing success of Puccini's Tosca, the most recent production of the Cairo Opera House, presented during the beginning of this month, Abdallah Saad is at it again. This time he is directing Giuseppe Verdi's Aida. In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Centre, the Cairo Opera Company and Cairo Opera Orchestra, conducted by maestro Giorgio Croci, will present Aida at the Main Hall from 25 to 29 April. Among the vocalists are soprano Iman Mustafa in the role of Aida and tenor Walid Karim as Radamès.

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