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The Khedivial Opera House or Royal Opera House ( ar, دار الأوبرا الخديوية /
ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...
: ''Dār Awbirā al-Khudaywī'') was an opera house in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
, the oldest opera house in all of Africa. It was inaugurated on 1 November 1869 and burned down on 28 October 1971. The opera house was built on the orders of the
Khedive Khedive (, ota, خدیو, hıdiv; ar, خديوي, khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"K ...
Ismail Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
to celebrate the opening of the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...
. The architects Pietro Avoscani (from
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
) and Rossi designed the building. It seated approximately 850 people and was made mostly of wood. It was located between the districts of
Azbakeya Azbakeya ( ar, أزبكية; also spelled Al Uzbakeya or Auzbekiya) is one of the central districts of Cairo, Egypt. It contains many historically important establishments. One of these is the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, which was in ...
and Ismailyya in Egypt's capital city.
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the ...
's opera ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...
'' was the first opera performed at the opera house on 1 November 1869. Ismail planned a grander exhibition for his new theatre. After months of delay due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Verdi's new opera, ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...
'', received its world premiere at the Khedivial Opera House on 24 December 1871. In the early morning hours of 28 October 1971, the opera house burned to the ground. The all-wooden building was quickly consumed, and only two statues made b
Mohamed Hassan
survived. After the original opera house was destroyed, Cairo was without an opera house for nearly two decades until the opening of the new
Cairo Opera House The Cairo Opera House ( ar, دار الأوبرا المصرية, ''Dār el-Opera el-Masreyya''; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of Cairo's National Cultural Centre, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to mo ...
in 1988. The site of the Khedivial Opera House has been rebuilt into a multi-story concrete car garage. The square (to the south of Al Ataba metro station) overlooking the building's location, is still called Opera Square (Meidan El Opera)


See also

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Cairo Opera House The Cairo Opera House ( ar, دار الأوبرا المصرية, ''Dār el-Opera el-Masreyya''; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of Cairo's National Cultural Centre, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to mo ...


External links


History
from the website of the new
Cairo Opera House The Cairo Opera House ( ar, دار الأوبرا المصرية, ''Dār el-Opera el-Masreyya''; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of Cairo's National Cultural Centre, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to mo ...

Press release from the Egyptian Cultural Center
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Cairo Culture in Cairo History of Cairo Opera houses in Egypt Theatres completed in 1869 Music venues completed in 1869 1971 disestablishments 1869 establishments in Egypt