Greek delight
Amal Choucri Catta appreciates a long awaited reunion
Zorba Ballet, Cairo Opera Ballet Company, Cairo Opera Orchestra and A-Capella Choir, conductor Ivan Filev, soloist Hana El-Guindi, music: Mikis Theodorakis, choreography: Lorca Massine, Cairo Opera House Main Hall, 12, 13 and 17 February
This time, when he returned to the main hall for three nights, Zorba enjoyed a full house every time, and his audience was thrilled by the beauty of the spectacle. To the ballet's most dedicated fans the long awaited opening night was a well deserved reward. With Hani Hassan in the title role, Ahmed Yehia as John, Walid Abdel-Wahab as Yorgas, Erminia Kamel as Madame Hortense and Alexandra Volkhovskaya as Marina, the performance, though executed with exemplary precision, was filled with sensitivity and passion. At times it was quite moving. Such was the case, for example, with the slaying of Marina and the death of Madame Hortense, both of which were fabulously interpreted by the two prima ballerinas. For their part the A-Capella Choir proved more than capable, and under conductor Ivan Filev's baton, the orchestra managed to strike up the most tender melody of grief -- so beautiful in its flowing melancholy that many audience members were frequently close to tears.
The ballet opens on a grave note, with Theodorakis's dramatic musical prelude foreshadowing the tragic events to follow. As the curtains are drawn they reveal a sun-bathed Greek village where Yorgos, the handsome village boy, grants the audience a time-stopping impetuous solo as soon as he appears. Yorgos, the audience thus finds out, is burning with love for the young widow, Marina. Soon Yorgos is joined by fellow villagers, the corps-de-ballet. In a joyful mood, though not without an undercurrent of impending disaster, the villagers introduce themselves, their dance reflecting the passionate spirit of none other than Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of the celebrated 1946 novel, Alexis Zobra, on which both the ballet and the rather more famous 1962 film, Zorba the Greek, starring Anthony Quinn in the title role, with a score by Theodorakis, are based.
Born in 1925, Theodorakis, who also provided the music for the present ballet, is a remarkably prolific composer. His work includes operas, ballets, oratorios, symphonies, piano concertos, a requiem and film scores, as well as 1,000 songs, the melodies of which have proved so popular many of them are now among the most defining tunes of Greek music. Influenced by folk music at an early age, Theodorakis gave his firs concert at 17. He lived in Paris from 1953 to 1961, training at the Conservatoire and studying musical analysis with Olivier Messiaen. In 1957 he was given the top award by Dimitri Shostakovich at the Moscow Festival Contest. His sojourn in Paris was a period of intense creativity, and it was then that his music began to gain worldwide recognition. In 1967, when Greece became a dictatorship, Theodorakis's music was banned. As a political detainee he was imprisoned from 1967 to 1970, his release only coming about in response to worldwide appeals. In 1976 Theodorakis founded a Movement for Peace and Culture, and in 1983 was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.
But it was Theodorakis's remarkably fruitful collaboration with choreographer Lorca Massine, the son of the great Leonid Massine, which started in 1972, that brought about Zorba in 1988. Created for the Arena di Verona, the ballet was a fabulous success. Since then, Zorba has been performed in over 30 countries, with over two million viewers satisfied. As a unique spectacle, especially when it is well performed, Zorba is a unique spectacle that has its own kind of universal appeal. Massine, the current director of the Zorba Ballet Company in Poland, presented the dance at the main hall a few years ago. More recently he was invited to choreograph the show for the Cairo Opera Ballet. Since then, the dance has not stopped commanding a full house and gaining an ever increasing number of admirers among the ballet lovers of Cairo.
The performance of the Cairo Opera Company's danseur- etoile Hany Hassan as the generous, unselfish, happy-go- lucky, freedom-loving Zorba, has undoubtedly contributed to the ballet's success. As an outstanding young performer well on his way to stardom, Hassan has repeatedly proved his worth. So has Walid Abdel-Wahab, the dancer who played Yorgos, Marina's killer. The drama culminates in tragedy with Marina performing her last solo. Alexandra Volkhovskaya's splendid dance was accompanied by mezzo-soprano Hanan El-Guindy's beautiful voice -- El-Guindy is the prima donna who recently gave Cairo a magnificent Amneris -- and the dance was so well received it had audience members jumping out of their seats. Erminia Kamel, too, was a fabulous Madame Hortense -- the old and lonely artist with an unfulfilled dream.
Ahmed Yehia -- another praiseworthy young dancer -- was likewise excellent in the role of John, the American tourist who tries to mingle with the village people -- initially in vain. He endeavours to imitate Zorba, imbibing his philosophy of life and, the more he understands him, the more happily he mingles with the villagers. The final dance, the famous Sirtaki, which joined John and Zorba with the corps-de-ballet, was performed again and again in answer to the demands of the audience. Though bathed in sweat and tired to the bones, the two stars seemed to enjoy the encores at least as much as the audience.
