In progress:
Happy to give
By
Amal Choucri Catta
Ratiba El-Hefny was the first chairperson of the National Cultural Centre, Cairo Opera House when it opened in 1988. For 33 years she was dean of the Arabic Music Institute, and is currently advisor to the chairman of the National Cultural Centre as well as chair of the Arab Music Union. Her long stage career brought many accolades for her outstanding singing. She has published more than 50 books on music and music history and founded the El- Hefny Centre for Music Studies in honour of her late father, eminent musicologist Mahmoud Ahmed El-Hefny.
It may seem strange that after all the years I have spent studying and singing opera my entire interest is now concentrated on Arabic music.
My voice has remained the same but I feel I have given all I can to opera: I have sung title roles on the stages of opera houses across the globe. I leave opera singing to younger singers and believe that Arabic music is today much more in need of attention.
Arabic music requires honest musicologists who are at the same time well-versed in occidental, symphonic music. I chair the Arabic Music Union, which is attached to the Arab League. It is a great honour, placing me musically at the head of the Arab countries, a huge responsibility. And at the Cairo Opera House I am responsible for all activities pertaining to Arabic music: orchestras, programmes, singers, performances. A spin-off of this is that I am in charge of the annual Arabic Music Festival. In addition to performances the festival includes lectures and conferences, and produces a successful daily magazine.
These activities obviously take up much time to organise, and in planning the Festival we have to start very early. This year the festival is scheduled not from 1-10 November, as usual, but for 1-10 December so as to avoid Ramadan. And December seems also to be a good month: there are no other festivals taking place.
Another area currently taking up lots of my time is the Young Talent Centre of Cairo's Opera House, in which I am very active. I like working with children. I was the first to create a children's choir in 1961, and a large number of today's performers, of operatic and Arabic music, and even members of the ballet company, began in my choir.
And then of course there is sitting at home with my boyfriend, by which I mean my computer, writing. I have already published 50 books for children: an encyclopaedia on music, starting from the earliest times till now, and including electronic music. The subjects are presented in the form of illustrated narratives: it is a very colourful production. I also published a book on Abdel-Wahab and on Umm Kulthoum, on my father, Dr Mahmoud Ahmed El-Hefny, on Mounira El-Mahdiya, and books on El-Assabgy and on El-Sombaty are in the pipeline. I write for several magazines, and also attend conferences and festivals abroad, as representative of Egypt or as head of the Union of Arabic Music.
So my activities are varied as they are numerous. I was, though, disappointed by the disappearance of my weekly TV-programme on Arabic music, which closed three years ago and has never been resumed. Similar programmes are broadcast in other Arab countries, and programmes on Arabic music are sometimes scheduled on local television though these tend towards the superficial and are presented by non-specialists.
A thorough musical background is important not only for TV programmes but also for biographies: while writing the biographies of musicians I also write about their music, something other writers tend to avoid.
My books present music in a simplified manner, for the non- specialised reader. I think translating at least some of my books would be an interesting exercise: the one on Mounira El-Mahdiya would be perfect. She has never been written about before. The first part of the book provides background necessary to understand music and singing in the early twenties of the last century and deals with Mohamed Ali Street, Emadeddin and other places. In the second part of the book I speak about Mounira El- Mahdiya, about her work and her songs, giving the reader the opportunity to grasp the atmosphere of the time. Mounira El-Mahdiya was, in those years, as important as Umm Kulthoum at a later date: she was not only a popular singer but a woman with a political role. I do believe this book might interest the foreign reader, as could my books on Arabic music for children.
As for my operatic activities, I would very much like to sing a requiem, or lieder, or give a recital. My singing technique -- and this has been appreciated by specialists abroad -- has allowed me to go on singing for a long time.
There is also the El-Hefny Centre for Music Studies in Mohandessin, bearing my father's name. He introduced music into schools and other institutions, a lead followed in later years by Dr Sarwat Okasha, for whom I have the greatest admiration. At the centre I teach opera and have the finest musicians and soloists for Arabic music. I also teach at the Institute for Arabic Music. There I give master classes, introducing the students to as much of my technique as I can. I consider that my duty today is to give. I have been given very much and now I have to give to others what was given to me.
You ask me why I do not give master classes at the Opera House and why I am not consultant for opera singing? Well, I am ready to do and to be all that but I have never been asked. As an opera professional I often see beginners making mistakes which I would gladly correct. I am always happy to give, I only have to be asked.
