Lebanese diva Magda Al-Roumi headlined a concert in solidarity with the Iraqi people at Cairo Opera House's Main Hall last Thursday. Organised by the Hayati Association headed by Awatef Serageddin, the charity concert also featured an exhibition showcasing the work of 36 artists. Serageddin said that all of the artists had donated their pieces to the charities on behalf of which the event was organised. Inaugurated by prominent caricaturist Mustafa Hussein, the exhibition was attended by Lebanese Ambassador to Cairo Sami Quronfil, Major-General Mounir Thabet as well as Hoda El-Ageizi, wife of Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.
At one point during Al-Roumi's wonderful show, an enthusiastic group of celebrities -- including director Youssef Chahine, and actresses Yousra and Lebleba -- joined her on stage to chant a song by late singer Abdel-Halim Hafez in solidarity with the Iraqi people.
Solidarity with Iraq will probably be dominating the arts world for a while, with yet another event set to take place on the Opera House grounds on 7 April, this time at the Al-Hanager Art Centre. Egyptian women against the war are organising a cultural evening featuring renowned vernacular poet Abdel- Rahman El- Abnoudi reciting his most recent poem, called Baghdad, to be followed by songs performed by singer Abeer. Everybody is welcome, my dears, to share in this patriotic event.
Popular Iraqi singer Kazem Al- Saher, meanwhile, has finished composing the music to accompany a patriotic poem written by veteran Egyptian poet Farouk Gweida about both the suffering and fortitude of the Iraqi people, and especially Iraqi children, as they face the wrath of the Anglo-American strikes currently taking place. This is the second time Gweida and Al- Saher have teamed up -- their first collaboration was on the song version of one of Gweida's romantic poems, entitled If we weren't apart.
Good news for lovers of Coptic art, culture and history arrived this week in the form of an American University in Cairo (AUC) inaugural lecture on Coptic studies titled "New Discoveries of Coptic Monuments: Problems of their Preservation and Publication," by Gawdat Gabra, AUC Coptic Studies professor, on 8 April. The lecture, set to take place at Oriental Hall, will be followed by an open discussion.
Meanwhile, my sweets, you'll be pleased to know that an exhibition of Indian instruments is currently taking place at the Opera Music Library gallery. Co-organised by the Opera House and the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the show is ongoing through 9 April. A unique, first of its kind interactive exhibition, the instruments on display span a wide range of Indian music -- from tribal and folk to classical and modern. Majumdar, a well-known Indian classical musician who plays the Sarod, as well as Sharma, a trained musician and maker of Indian musical instruments, were both present at the exhibition's opening.
The Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation, in collaboration with the embassies of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Poland, has organised a Cultural Festival of Central European Countries, which is taking place at the centre from 23 March until 3 April. First Under-Secretary for Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Culture Cherif El-Choubashi, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary Laszlo Kadar, Ambassador of the Czech Republic Jakub Karfik, Ambassador of Poland Joanna Wronecka and Czech artist Alena Laufrova, all took part in the inaugural ceremonies. The festival features art exhibitions and musical concerts, including a show by the Hungarian Molnar Folk Music Ensemble featuring singer and violinist Miklos Molnar, Andor Maruzsenzky on viola, and Geza Penzes on double bass. Film screenings included the Czech Bouquet directed by FA Brabec, the Polish List of Adulteresses directed by Jerzy Stuhr, and the Hungarian The Last Blues directed by Peter Gardos. The latter was the winner of the Golden Pyramid at Cairo International Film Festival 2002.
And finally, my dears, my sincerest congratulations go out to Holeil Ghali, who has just been appointed by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni as head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities' Central Department of Middle Egypt. He will be in charge of antiquities from both Upper Egypt and the Oases. Ghali has worked at the SCA for 14 years, and is a professor of Ancient Egyptian history at Zagazig University. He obtained his PhD in Ancient Egyptian Antiquities from Vienna University, where he studied the restoration and maintenance of antiquities.
Pack of Cards
Lebanese diva Magda Al-Roumi headlined a concert in solidarity with the Iraqi people at Cairo Opera House's Main Hall last Thursday. Organised by the Hayati Association headed by Awatef Serageddin, the charity concert also featured an exhibition showcasing the work of 36 artists. Serageddin said that all of the artists had donated their pieces to the charities on behalf of which the event was organised. Inaugurated by prominent caricaturist Mustafa Hussein, the exhibition was attended by Lebanese Ambassador to Cairo Sami Quronfil, Major-General Mounir Thabet as well as Hoda El-Ageizi, wife of Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.
Solidarity with Iraq will probably be dominating the arts world for a while, with yet another event set to take place on the Opera House grounds on 7 April, this time at the Al-Hanager Art Centre. Egyptian women against the war are organising a cultural evening featuring renowned vernacular poet Abdel- Rahman El- Abnoudi reciting his most recent poem, called Baghdad, to be followed by songs performed by singer Abeer. Everybody is welcome, my dears, to share in this patriotic event.
Popular Iraqi singer Kazem Al- Saher, meanwhile, has finished composing the music to accompany a patriotic poem written by veteran Egyptian poet Farouk Gweida about both the suffering and fortitude of the Iraqi people, and especially Iraqi children, as they face the wrath of the Anglo-American strikes currently taking place. This is the second time Gweida and Al- Saher have teamed up -- their first collaboration was on the song version of one of Gweida's romantic poems, entitled If we weren't apart.
Meanwhile, my sweets, you'll be pleased to know that an exhibition of Indian instruments is currently taking place at the Opera Music Library gallery. Co-organised by the Opera House and the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the show is ongoing through 9 April. A unique, first of its kind interactive exhibition, the instruments on display span a wide range of Indian music -- from tribal and folk to classical and modern. Majumdar, a well-known Indian classical musician who plays the Sarod, as well as Sharma, a trained musician and maker of Indian musical instruments, were both present at the exhibition's opening.
The Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation, in collaboration with the embassies of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Poland, has organised a Cultural Festival of Central European Countries, which is taking place at the centre from 23 March until 3 April. First Under-Secretary for Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Culture Cherif El-Choubashi, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary Laszlo Kadar, Ambassador of the Czech Republic Jakub Karfik, Ambassador of Poland Joanna Wronecka and Czech artist Alena Laufrova, all took part in the inaugural ceremonies. The festival features art exhibitions and musical concerts, including a show by the Hungarian Molnar Folk Music Ensemble featuring singer and violinist Miklos Molnar, Andor Maruzsenzky on viola, and Geza Penzes on double bass. Film screenings included the Czech Bouquet directed by FA Brabec, the Polish List of Adulteresses directed by Jerzy Stuhr, and the Hungarian The Last Blues directed by Peter Gardos. The latter was the winner of the Golden Pyramid at Cairo International Film Festival 2002.
And finally, my dears, my sincerest congratulations go out to Holeil Ghali, who has just been appointed by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni as head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities' Central Department of Middle Egypt. He will be in charge of antiquities from both Upper Egypt and the Oases. Ghali has worked at the SCA for 14 years, and is a professor of Ancient Egyptian history at Zagazig University. He obtained his PhD in Ancient Egyptian Antiquities from Vienna University, where he studied the restoration and maintenance of antiquities.
