The Cairo Opera House (, ''Dār el-Opera el-Masreyya''; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

's National Cultural Centre, is the main performing arts venue in the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the Zamalek district near downtown Cairo.

History

The opera house was inaugurated on 10 October 1988. The funds for the complex were a gift from the nation of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

as a result of President

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

's visit to Japan in April 1983. Construction began in May 1985 and lasted for three years. In October 1988, President Mubarak and Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, the younger brother of the Japanese Emperor, inaugurated the National Cultural Centre Cairo Opera House. It was the first time for Japan to stage a ''

Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

'' show, a traditional popular drama with singing and dancing, in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

or the

Arab World The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. In recognition of the Cairo Opera House, the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra chose it as a venue for their first performance in the Middle East and Africa in January 2007. The Arabic Oud House was created in its premises before moving to a building in the old town.

Khedivial Opera House

In 1869, Khedive Ismail gave instructions to build an opera house to celebrate the opening of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

. It was called Khedivial (Royal) Opera House and was meant as a lasting and outstanding symbol of the arts of drama and music. Designed by Italian architects Avoscani and Rossi, the opera house was completed in six months, in the center of Cairo near the Azbakeya district. The Khedive commissioned a performance which would reflect the ancient Egyptian history. French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, in the Khedive's service, wrote a plot which eventually served the respected Italian librettist Antonio Ghislanzoni as a basis for his

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

was appointed to compose the music. The result was the famous opera, '' Aida'', with its heroic quality, powerful dramatic scenes and its passionate music. Because of delays caused by the Franco-Prussian war, the sets and costumes for the premiere of ''Aida'' could not be transported from Paris in time, and in 1869 the Opera House opened instead with Verdi's '' Rigoletto'', one of Verdi's earlier masterpieces. ''Aida'' would receive its world premiere in Cairo in 1871. Contrary to general belief, ''Aida'' was not commissioned for the inauguration of the Suez Canal. The Khedivial Opera House was the first on the African continent to perform world famous operas and symphonic masterpieces. A little over a century later, in the early morning of 28 October 1971, the great Khedivial Royal Opera House was completely destroyed by a fire.

Venues and facilities

The Cairo Opera Complex consists of seven theaters, a music library, an art gallery and a museum. * The Main Hall seats 1,200 people and has four levels, including orchestra seating, three tiers and a presidential box. It is used for operas and orchestra and ballet performances. * The Small Hall seats up to 500 people on a single floor, is used for chamber music and recitals and can double as a very large reception hall for important events. * The Open-Air Theatre is an acoustically designed square-shaped stage used for outdoor performances, and seats 600 people. * El Gomhouria Theatre is an exquisite theater situated near Abdeen Royal Palace. It is under the administration of the Cairo Opera House. * The Arab Music Institute has state-of-the-art technology and is well-suited to stage authentic Arab music performances. * The Alexandria Opera House or Sayed Darwish Theatre * The Roman theatre, Alexandria which was discovered in 1963, seats up to 800. It features white marble, green marble, red granite and mosaic, arches and stone.

Resident companies

* Cairo Symphony Orchestra * Cairo Opera Company * Cairo Opera Ballet Company * National Arab Music Ensemble * Cairo Opera Orchestra * Cairo Modern Dance Theater * Heritage Ensemble for Arab Music * Religious Song Ensemble * Cairo Opera Choir * Cairo Opera Children's Choir

References

External links