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

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

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

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of

Gezira Island Gezira is an island in the Nile, in central Cairo, Egypt. The southern portion of the island contains the Gezira district, and the northern third contains the Zamalek district. Gezira is west of downtown Cairo and Tahrir Square, connected acr ...

in the Nile River, in the

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

district near downtown Cairo.

History

The

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

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

as a result of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...

'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 Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...

'' 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 in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

or the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. 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 The Arabic Oud House () is a music school for the traditional Arabic lute called oud in Cairo, Egypt. Founded by Iraqi oud player Naseer Shamma, the school has trained a new generation of oud players and subsequently opened branches in the United ...

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. 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 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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. Giuseppe Verdi was appointed to compose the music. The result was the famous 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 ...

'', 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 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 h ...

's ''

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 ...

'', 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 The Cairo Opera Ballet Company is the resident ballet company of the Cairo Opera House and a ballet school affiliated to Egypt's Higher Institute of Ballet. Its foundation began in 1958 during the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser through the effor ...

* 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