A dream of winter
Amal Choucri Catta revels in her Russian sojourn, however brief
Opening ceremony of the Russian Cultural Week: Gala Concert and Ballet Berezka, Cairo Opera House Main Hall and Gomhouriya Theatre, 18 and 19 December
Nutcracker, Cairo Opera Ballet
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Despite several last-minute changes, the week- long Russian season at the Cairo Opera opened in an atmosphere of good cheer. The programme began with the Moskovia Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Edward Grach, the Italian Academy member, Moscow Philharmonic Academy soloist and violin department head at the Moscow National Conservatoire who founded the troupe. The Moskovia Orchestra's 25 members are Grach's Conservatoire students; and their intelligent interpretation, colourful expression and masterful harmony were testimony to Grach's prowess as a teacher.
The first half of the performance was devoted to musical extracts and song, and only some of the numbers on offer were Russian. The audience cherished, among other composers, Rossini, Piazolla, Verdi and Liszt. There was a Nocturne and two pieces from Tchaikovsky's delightful Seasons, an Impromptu by Arutunian, Imitation of Albeniz by Schedrin and Fantasy on Themes from Russian Films by Dunaevsky. The company's varied repertoire was matched by its many brilliant performers, who delivered the goods in a most admirable way. Soprano Marina Andreeva, a Moscow State Philharmony and Gelikan Opera soloist, for example, gave a beautiful rendition of Violetta's aria from Verdi's La Traviata. Mezzo-soprano Margarita Maruna, a Bolshoi Theatre soloist, deserves special mention; so do pianist Denis Matsuev, winner of the international Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, cellist Boris Adrianov, winner of the Rostropovich Cello Competition and the State Philharmony pianist-composer Anatoly Spivak, who has over 40 years released many acclaimed CDs.
It was thus in an open and receptive spirit that the audience approached the second half of the show, given over to a performance by the academic state folklore ensemble, Berezka. The 11 colourful specimens of the famous Slavic dance Berezka had to offer were good humoured and full of smiles. Cheerful affairs, they occasionally evoked snowy expanses dotted with the rare lone troika, relentless wind blowing north into the tundra and sorrowful melodies echoing across the banks of the Volga. The choreography was subtle, the music radiant. The two piquant comic dances -- Prohodka (The Walk) and Komarik (The Mosquito), performed to music by Smirnov -- were especially pleasurable. The women dancers got the lion's share of the performance, confirming the legend that gave the company its name: one day in 1948 16 girls walked out of the city of Kalinina holding red handkerchiefs, dancing to the song Berezka.
In the last 50 years, presumably since that day, the company has performed successfully in over 20 countries. The Cairo audience, having on many occasions seen and enjoyed performances by the Gzhel and Moyseyev companies, was ready to appreciate such an excellent example of Russian dance. Sparkling with elegance, Berezka's remarkably beautiful woman dancers seemed to float onto the stage -- their costumes luxurious, their movements dignified. And what with the subtle acrobatic feats of their male counterparts, the audience could not have hoped for a better performance.
Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker; Cairo Opera Ballet, choreographer Abdel-Moniem Kamel; Cairo Opera Orchestra, conductor Ivan Filev, Cairo Opera House Main Hall, 25-30 December
This time the Cairo Opera's Nutcracker was subject to several welcome changes -- Hani Hassan replacing Serguey Bolonsky in the role of Dr Drosselmeyer, the magician. Bolonsky had proved vastly popular not only as Drosselmeyer but as the father in Cinderella and the sorcerer in Swan Lake -- a perfect interpreter and an extraordinary dancer. Yet Hassan had stood out almost as much in the role of Zorba, and was set to work his way up by giving outstanding performances in many different main roles, the present one being his second. He interpreted Drosselmeyer beautifully, proving himself a splendid comedian in the process and earning a standing ovation.
The audience also had the benefit of two new Claras -- Tatiana Sevilitna and Katerina Ivanova -- and a new quintet for the Eastern Dance of the second act. With a soloist and four virtuousos, this was certainly one of the best sequences of the ballet, with the sinuous, voluptuous contortions of all five dancers delighting the audience. New costumes were another welcome change; so were the umbrellas restored especially for the Chinese dance. The dancers were more than adequate. Alexander Kiriniok of the Chinese dance was lively in his usual, brilliant way. Mahmoud Mustafa gave a promising performance as the young prince. And the orchestra, conducted by the Bulgarian Ivan Filev, provided magical music to match. The time- honoured delight of Nutcracker was evident from the first act on, pleasing young and old: grandpa and grandma trying to keep up with the youngsters, the mice battling with the toy soldiers, etc.
Abdel-Moniem Kamel thus managed once again not only to garner a full house on all six performance nights, but to turn Nutcracker into a spectacle of international refinement. Kamel was 18 when he began starring in classical ballets, having been trained by Russians. His roles included Albert in Giselle, Basil in Don Quichote, the prince in Sheherazade, Siegfried in Swan Lake and Hamlet. He has given guest performances with the Bolshoi, Kirov, Sofia and New Siberia. He also performed in Tokyo and for two years was a soloist at the Scala Theatre of Milan. He became the artistic director of the local ballet company, then part of the Academy of Arts, and found his way to the Cairo Opera when the company became part of it in 1989.
At the opera Kamel created his own versions of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Le Corsaire, Giselle, Nutcracker and Cinderella, producing and directing contemporary ballets like El-Nil, Carmen Suite, Osiris, Hamlet, Carmina Burana and Lorekiana. He is also to be credited for such productions as Zorba, Malgré tout, Danse qu'on croise, and for the Arabic operetta Al-Laila Al-Kabira. Since he was appointed artistic advisor to the chairman of the opera, the Opera Ballet Company has undertaken regular tours abroad, performing in France, Germany, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Tunisia, England, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Italy, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Russia, Canada and New York's Kennedy Centre -- all very successful.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that he was applauded so loudly when he stepped on the stage at the end of the Nutcracker performance. He had given the audience a beautiful gift on Christmas night: a white dream with a lovely princess waltzing to Konfitürenland with her prince charming, snowflakes in her hair.
