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Christmas Magic on the Nile Cairo
Cairo Opera House
12/26/2024 - & December 27m*, 27, 28, 29m, 29, 30, 2024
The Nutcracker
Lev Ivanov, Vasili Vainonen, Abdel Moneim Kamel (choreography), Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (music)
Cairo Opera Ballet Company, Erminia Kamel (artistic director)
Cairo Opera Orchestra, Nader Abbassi (conductor)
Lev Solodovnikov, Mohamed El Gharabawy (sets & costumes),Yasser Shaalan (lights)
(© Ossama el Naggar)
German writer Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1766‑1822) is widely considered to be the originator of the literary genres now known as science fiction and horror. His influence on literature and on culture in general cannot be underestimated. Offenbach’s opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann uses three of his works: Der Sandmann (1816); Rath Krespel (Councillor Krespel or the Cremona Violin, 1818); and Das verlorene Spiegelbild (The Lost Reflection, 1814) as the basis for its three acts, with Hoffmann as protagonist.
Hoffman’s influence was pervasive: Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is based on his Nussknacker und Mausekönig (1816); Delibes’ ballet Coppélia is based on Der Sandmann; Schumann’s Kreisleriana (1838) is based on three Hoffmann tales; and the supernatural elements in Ingmar Bergman’s film Fanny and Alexander (1982) derive from various Hoffman stories. His short story Vampirismus (1819) preceded Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) by almost eighty years.
Hoffmann’s Nussknacker und Mausekönig was adapted by Alexandre Dumas père as Histoire d’un casse‑noisette (1844) and it is this adaptation that serves as the storyline for Tchaikovsky’s enduring ballet. It’s hard to believe this work, lasting two hours, was just half of a double bill when it premiered in 1892. The other half was the opera Iolanta, a fable about a blind princess, but not in the supernatural genre.
As with many cities, performances of The Nutcracker in the Christmas period are a well‑established tradition in Cairo. From my early childhood, indelible memories remain of Tchaikovsky’s ballet. It’s been a popular art form in Egypt for over a century, but it was mainly performed by troupes visiting Alexandria and Cairo’s famed opera house, inaugurated in 1871 for the world premiere of Verdi’s Aida. In 1966, during the heyday of the Soviet-Egyptian friendship, the Cairo Opera Ballet Company was established. Thanks to a close collaboration with the USSR, a strong ballet tradition was established here by Russian pedagogues. Despite Egypt’s volte‑face under Sadat in the 1970s and the 1990 dissolution of the USSR, the tradition continues. In fact, even today, ballet performances sell out faster in Cairo than do opera or symphonic fare.
The Nutcracker is the third of Tchaikovsky’s three great ballets, premiering two years after Sleeping Beauty (1890) and fifteen after Swan Lake (1877). Given its seasonal appeal as the world’s most‑performed ballet, involving a large contingent of child performers, it perennially attracts families and friends of the young dancers. Unfortunately, all performances of this Cairo Opera Ballet Company’s production had long been sold out, so I experienced a matinée performance powered by a recording rather than a live orchestra. I hadn’t been to a ballet set to pre‑recorded music for decades. It’s a definite drawback, as the tempi can’t adapt to the dancers’ technical abilities.
The setting of the ballet is the family home of the Stahlbaum family, who are hosting a Christmas party. Their children, Clara and Fritz, receive copious gifts from the guests. Most enticing are those from the children’s godfather Drosselmeyer, a toy maker and a magician. Fritz breaks one of the gifts, a nutcracker, and the toy maker promises to fix it. The dancer interpreting Drosselmeyer conveyed the avuncular and kind nature of the toymaker but none of his frightening side, prominent in Hoffmann’s original tale but less so in Dumas’s adaptation.
When Clara falls asleep, we’re transported to a fantasy world. The transition to this dream world is indicated by a Christmas tree in the centre of the Stahlbaum home, which grows to a huge size. The nutcracker transforms into a Prince, who fights the Mouse King. Fritz’s toy soldiers become the Prince’s army that combat an army of mice that spring from under the floorboards. Clara helps the Prince kill the Mouse King. The first act ends with Clara and the Prince journeying through a pine forest under the snow. The special effects showing the falling snow were masterful.
In Act II, we’re in the Land of Sweets, where we enjoy the various sweets and spices through dances from their land of origin: danse espagnole for chocolate (via the Americas), danse arabe for coffee, and danse chinoise for tea. The soloists in the dancs espagnole impressed with their exquisite flamenco‑like moves. More than in most performances I’ve seen, the danse arabe, performed by a soloist and four companions, was languid, with the soloist evoking belly dancing. The amusing danse chinoise, performed by female and male dancers, elicited the most applause. Of these, the most elegantly choreographed was the danse russe, also known as Trepak, inspired by Russian folklore. The male dancers impressed with their Cossack‑like awe‑inspiring footwork and jumping. One could sense the enchantment of the children in the audience when young dancers emerged from Mother Ginger’s enormous skirt in La Mère Gigogne et les Polichinelles. The highlight was the Variation de la Fée Dragée, gracefully enacted by the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Initially rowdy and overexcited, children were soon captivated by the enchanting imagery and natural grace of the dancers. By the end, they didn’t want to leave. The tradition has been transferred to a new generation. In time, they too will return with their progeny to experience the joy of The Nutcracker and other immortal ballets.
Ossama el Naggar
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