2010 was an exciting year filled with a big variety of events: ballets, operas, symphonic concerts, recitals, and all the…
Attract and widen your audience
Chief Executive at Audiences London, Sarah Boiling talks to Ahram Online about the advisory work of her organisation which provides…
World renowned orchestra reaches out to youth
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment appears to have found the right formula for attracting new and young audiences…
When Baroque Masters meet at El Sawy Culturewheel
El Sakia String Orchestra gave their second concert at El Sawy Culturewheel, introducing the best works from classical music to…
Countdown to Christmas
With the beginning of December, the music world enters into the Christmas spirit. Christmas-related concerts will be held in many…
The devil in the programming
An otherwise successful concert of music by Mozart and Weber raises questions about the spread of unconventional programming. Published on…
The Human body as Art
Whether the representations of the body are spontaneous cave drawings or intentional academic studies, it remains one of the fundamental…
Make way for the King
Tut Ankh Amon is the best known Egyptian Pharaoh and his name is recognised worldwide. Tut Ankh Amon — actually…
The World according to 1957
With half a century of life experiences expressed though artistic activities, three artists born in 1957 met together at the…
The October Files
October has seen a remarkable number of valuable performances not only at the Cairo Opera House but also at locations…
Arts of intelligence
This year, the Cairo Opera House joined an international network of theatres broadcasting live from the Metropolitan Opera – an…
Aida returns to the Pyramids
October 5-7 and 10 are important dates for the Cairo Opera House, marking the return of Verdi’s Aida to the…
Puzzled in a magical location
Friday, 1 October was my last evening in Beirut. I was there to attend a series of workshops of the…
The lost Mozart
It would be hard to say which musical form satisfied Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the most, or provided him with the…
In the beginning was Latin America
Latin America’s journey to national independence, which started in 1810 and went on till 1825, is as fascinating Latin America.…
Almost Perfect
Notwithstanding faulty sound engineering, Ati Metwaly discovers how summer can be a many-spleandoured thing Published on 12 August 2010 in…
The truth of fiction
“Truth becomes fiction when the fiction is true; the real becomes not-real where the unreal is real.” — Cao Xueqin.…
Stars in season
Published on 15 July 2010 in Al Ahram Weekly On 6 July, the Alexandria Opera House (Sayed Darwish Theater) offered…
The Greek revisited
Since 2001, the ballet Zorba has been performed at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall stage almost every year. The…
Grand finale
Gala concerts provide their audiences with a unique pleasure; it is a festive special occasion. The Cairo Opera Orchestra conducted…
Double Blast
19 June was no ordinary evening at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall. The concert offered a rather unusual compilation…
Love’s labour gained
The opera is set around the year 1830. Nemorino, a young peasant, is in love with a beautiful landowner’s daughter,…
Two B’s and One Hymnus
On 5 June, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andreas Spörri presented a particularly well compiled programme. The two big…
The importance of being Cambreling
The devil, as Ati Metwaly discovers again, is in the details Published on 3 June 2010 in Al Ahram Weekly…
Catharsis on the Nile
One of the purposes of art as formulated by Aristotle in his Poetics is catharsis. “Despite the indefiniteness of its…
Beyond the grave
For concert halls and classical performance regulars, 2010 has been a special year. The classical music world celebrates the 200th…
Artists Or Their Audiences? Who Is Crazy Here?
Published in Maadi Messenger Crazy artists! This quite provocative statement touches a nerve with many people. So are artists really…
Back in time
Published in Al Ahram Weekly The son of Italian immigrants, Salvatore Adamo was raised in Belgium. At the age of…
Personal reflections
Listening to pianist Ramzi Yassa’s performances of Chopin and Beethoven calls up reflections on the timeless force of art. Published…
Good Education
Published in Al Ahram Weekly Ralf Gothóni is a renowned contemporary musician from Finland. His versatile career as a pianist,…
Two to tango
Ballet is an art filled with moments, moments which stand in for emotions, and Degas captured many such moments in…
From Soviet to Nordic
Works by Soviet composers, followed by a gala concert of Nordic pieces, were on the programme of the Cairo Opera…
Ruptured Order
The Cairo Opera Ballet Company’s production of Aram Khachaturian’s ballet Spartacus left the audience with some intriguing questions. Published in…
An elegy to remember
Published in Al Ahram Weekly “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) is the opening…
Puccini in love
The Cairo Opera’s production of La Bohème, one of Puccini’s greatest operas, makes audiences fall in love with the piece…
When Santa comes to town
Published in Al Ahram Weekly December has brought a festive atmosphere to the streets of Cairo. In Egypt everybody celebrates…
Italian colours
Published in Al Ahram Weekly In May 1889, Puccini attended Sardou’s play La Tosca and, fascinated by its plot, he…
Vivaldi among the Latins
Published in Al Ahram Weekly In the 20th century, classical composers face the challenge of mainstream melody and rhythm, for…
Bipolar
Published in Al Ahram Weekly No need to retell, however briefly, the story of Romeo and Juliet. It is known,…
A quick recap for classical music lovers
Published in Maadi Messenger. Almost three months of a significant slow down in the classical music scene in Egypt, Saturday,…
More Than Just A Music School!
While researching a recent article on music education in Egypt, I came across a music center in Maadi called “Symphony…
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Ati Metwaly 