On that full moon’s night, the performance of ‘Rue Lepsius’, a Greek musical show, would have been perfectly suited for an open air Greek theatre of old. The enjoyment, however, was no less at the Cairo Opera House’s Main Hall stage on 14 June.

In 2009, the musical show composed by Nikos Xydakis and based on poetry by D Kapsalis was also a big success during the Athens Festival. ‘Rue Lepsisu’ was recently brought to Alexandria on 13 June and then to Cairo on 14 June. The event was presented under the auspices of the Greek Embassy in Cairo, the Greek Cultural Centre in Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, the Egyptian Embassy in Athens and the Cairo Opera House.

Lepsius was a pioneer Prussian Egyptologist and eponym of the street in Alexandria where Kavafis (1863-1933), the famous 20th century Greek poet, lived.

Expounding on the title’s relationship with the music, the programme notes state: “It’s the tune of the city where (Kavafis) lived, Alexandria. It’s the music that diffuses in the streets, the houses, the bars or even played by the street musicians.”

The concert featured: T Christoyannis and N Xydakis, singing; D Maronitis and D Kapsalis, narrators and Dimitris Bouzanis, conductor and pianist. Seven cellists and one bassist from the Cairo Symphony Orchestra joined together with the Arab Takht Ensemble, including a qanun, lute, nay, violin and tambourine, for the performance of the Greek musical show.

The performance, composed of alternating music, songs and poetry reading, comprised five successive parts, each picturing the poet’s life stages:

TheIntroduction consisted of Egyptian music, including a tune of Uum Kulthoum’s song by Zakaria Ahmed, Ana fi Entezarak (Waiting for You) which was warmly welcomed by the audience. Then the narrator read Kavafis’ own words about himself.

The next part, entitled The City (also the title of a poem by Kavafis), is set during the spring and portrays people celebrating Sham Al-Nessim peacefully and reaching for the blue sea.

In Apparition, the poet is hospitalised in Athens and has nostalgic visions of Alexandria. The Passage of Time follows this vision, as the show enters into its final act with the Communion, exploring religious feelings and the poet’s death.

The music reflects the cosmopolitan atmosphere in Alexandria during Kavafis’ time, alternating and associating different styles of music. The oriental parts were naturally played by the Takht Ensemble. The cellos and contrabass played the other parts reflecting the poet’s interactions, feelings and meditation. The piano added a tender and lyrical touch.

The baritone Tassis Christoyannis made a flamboyant entry onto the stage with a vivid and cheerful Greek song followed by a passionate tango. His warm and deep voice captivated the audience. Among other songs, an Egyptian singer sang Fairuz’ Law Kan Kalbi Mayi (If I Owned my Heart…), the lyrics of which are verses from a poem by Antara Ibn Chaddad (526 - 601), a legendary Arab poet and war hero. The singers name wasn’t mentioned but, if we may use the classical opera terms to describe his voice, he was a lyric tenor.

The last part, the Communion, was particularly touching and admirably performed by Dimitris Maronitis. The old narrator is wondering whether the dying poet will receive communion from the priest. The communion finally happens after which the priest conjures the land of Egypt to enfold the poet’s body. As he was speaking heartily, he let his papers fall one by one with lassitude, evoking the passing of Time and the final end, two recurrent themes in Kavafis’ poetry.

Accompanying this last episode, a big projection in the background showed Kavafis’ apartment in Lepsius Street (turned into a museum), an open window and fluttering curtains in the breeze. A projected video, entitled ‘Morning Light’, is by Lizzie Caligas which won the Golden Award at the 23rd Alexandria Biennale.

The simultaneous Arabic translation from Greek by Samuel Bishara (Kavafis Award 2009) was projected on both sides of the stage during the whole show. A supplementary English translation would have been favourable to non Arabic or Greek speakers.

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Dimitris Maronitis, narrator.

Born on 1929, is Professor emeritus, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. He is the author of many books, essays, articles and translations.

 

Tassis Christoyannis, baritone.

He studied singing, conducting and composing in Athens Conservatory. He was awarded the “Aldo Protti Golden Medal” in 1994 and won “First Honorary Mention” at the “Maria Callas International Singing Competition” in 1995.

He is a leading baritone at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf since 2000. He participated in innumerable performances in many countries.

Dionysis Kapsalis, poet.

He studied Classics and English Literature at Georgetown University, Washington DC. He is director of the Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece. He published 17 collections of poems, six essays books, translations and writes press articles. In 1999, he was awarded the Ouranis Prize for Poetry of the Academy of Athens.

Nikos Xydakis, composer.

He was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1952, and returned to Greece in 1963. His album “The Revenge of the Gypsies”, 1978, was a huge success. Since then he launched many considerable records and collaborated with the most significant Greek singers. He also writes music scores for movies and theatre plays.