Sounds of music Within the framework of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Cairo Opera House and France's presidency of the European Union from July to December 2008, an enthralling French performance titled "Sounds of the Opera" was performed by the Décor Sonore troupe and directed by Michel Risse at the Cairo Opera House open-air area. Founded in 1985 and internationally regarded as one of the most innovating French companies, Décor Sonore is aimed at sound creation for open spaces and street arts. For two days, the troupe presented a unique musical creation that transformed the Opera House into a giant instrument; the sounds of the buildings, lights, pyrotechnics and the Cairo Opera House soprano Dalia Farouk's voice offered a magical and idealised vision of the opera. With contact microphones, the performers draw sounds from the materials of the building itself; its walls, windows, fountains, marble surfaces, domes, furniture which are turned into instruments to create yet unheard sounds. Abdel-Hamid Eid blended in and captured parts of the spectacular show. The third National Festival of the Egyptian Theatre was inaugurated last week by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and the festival's director Ashraf Zaki at the Cairo Opera House. The opening ceremony began with a speech delivered by jury member and veteran actor Ezzat El-Alayli, who asked the attendees to stand for a minute of mourning in remembrance of Al-Ahram late journalist and critic Sami Khashaba, who passed away two weeks ago. For this round, the festival granted its shields and certificates of recognition to a number of actors and actresses, including Hassan Mustafa, El-Sayed Radi, Ragaa Hussein and producer Samir Khafagi. photos: Ayman Barayez Celebrating America's 4th of July, the US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey held a lavish reception at the US Embassy in Cairo. It was attended by a bevy of luminaries and senior state officials including Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Meselhi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tareq Kamel, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George, Secretary-General of the National Council for Women Forkhanda Hassan, as well as Omani Ambassador Abdul-Aziz Al-Hanaai and permanent representative of Saudi Arabia at the Arab League Ahmed Al-Qatan. The evening featured a performance by Whim'n Rhythm Yale University female A Cappella singing group, who sang the US national anthem as well as selections of their own repertoire. Music of the evening was performed by the Cairo Ensemble, conducted by Hisham Gabr. The Cairo Opera House was overcrowded by a galaxy of senior state officials and actors witnessing the private screening of the new blockbuster of Good News cinema production Hassan wa Morcous (Hassan and Morcous). The film is starring veteran comedian Adel Imam and world-renowned actor Omar Sharif, working together for the first time ever. Directed by promising filmmaker Rami Imam and written by Youssef Maati, the film tackles a controversial issue, which is the relationship between Egypt's Muslims and Copts. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid At a press conference popular singer Amr Diab announced the renewal of his contract with Rotana. During the conference Diab expressed his intention to boycott Jordan's Song Festival in case of its normalisation with Israel. Venezuelan Ambassador Victor Carazo celebrated his country's National Day aboard Le Pacha boat overlooking the Nile. The celebration was attended by the Japanese Ambassador to Egypt Kaoru Ishikawa and spouse, head of the Egyptian Writers Union and Editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Hebdo newspaper Mohamed Salmawi, plastic artist Farid Fadel and spouse of AUC professor Mona Zaki, as well as renowned pop singer Hakim and his spouse Gihane. Last week, the Embassy of Spain in cooperation with the Townhouse Gallery and the Cultural Resource Centre presented the first Mediterranean Hip-Hop performance in Cairo at a concert in Al-Genena Theatre of Al-Azhar Park. After the success of the B2D Cairo-Madrid Project that led to the presentation of DESORDANCES 3 at the Cairo Opera House and the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid in 2007, this new proposal by choreographer Dani Pannullo incorporates all the elements of hip-hop culture. Break-dance, street-dance, DJ-ing, MCs, graffiti and beat-box from Spain and Egypt combine in a powerful mix of live music, dance and art that represent young urban culture from both shores of the Mediterranean. Pannullo has been researching extensively the new generation of Arab and Spanish hip-hop musicians and has selected a group of talented young artists who performed in this project. Egyptian MCs Arabian Nights, Egy-crew break dancers, graffiti artist Zeta, beat-boxer Bilal and a selection of dancers from the Dani Pannullo Dance Theatre Company, MC Amin and Spanish hip-hop producer Frank T rocked the stage in a unique show. The aim of this project is to present a joint creation that incorporates the discourse of the young artists that represent the urban culture of our time beyond cultural boundaries. Pannullo aims at presenting this show every year in Spain and one country of the southern shore of the Mediterranean, including more artists and countries progressively to create new bridges of understanding. A few days ago, head of the General Organisation of Urban Harmony Samir Gharib and Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir met to discuss the first stage of a project to beautify the architecture of Qasr Al-Nil Street in Downtown Cairo. This is part of a larger project aimed at revamping the architecture of Old Cairo from the era of the khedives, as well as Ramses Square. On Sunday, colleagues and students of the late professor Raouf Hamed Abbas, eminent historian and former head of Cairo University's History Department, gathered at Cairo University to pay tribute to the life and career of the historian who died recently after having taught at the university for 40 years. The meeting was chaired by the dean of Cairo University's Faculty of Arts Ahmed Zayed. Speakers included historians Assem El-Dessouki and Adel Ghoneim, professor Awatef Abdel-Rahman and Sayed Yassin. At the end of the meeting, the dean of Cairo University's Faculty of Arts announced that one of the faculty's lecture halls will soon be named Raouf Abbas' hall in memory of the late professor.
