Cairo Opera House
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- This article refers to the Cairo Opera House built in 1988. For its predecessor, see Khedivial Opera House
The Cairo Opera House (Arabic: دار الأوبرا المصرية; Dār el-Obra el-Masreyya; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of Cairo's National Cultural Center, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to most of Egyptian's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River, close to downtown Cairo.
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[edit] History
The opera house was inaugurated on October 10, 1988. The funds for the complex were a gift from the nation of Japan to Egypt as a result of President Hosni Mubarak's visit to Japan in April 1983. Construction began in May 1985 and lasted for three years.
In October 1988, President Mubarak and His Highness, 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 show, a traditional popular drama with singing and dancing, in Africa or the Arab World.
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 architects Avoscani and Rossi the opera was completed in six months.
The Khedive commissioned a performance that should reflect ancient Egyptian history and French archaeologist Auguste Mariette Bey, 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, with its heroic quality, powerful dramatic scenes and its passionate music.
The Opera House opened with Rigoletto, one of Verdi's earlier masterpieces. Contrary to general belief, Aida was not commissioned for the neither the inauguration of the Opera House nor the Suez Canal. Aida was first performed in 1871. 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 October 28th 1971, the great Royal Opera House was completely destroyed by a fire.
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.[1]
[edit] Performance spaces
- Main Hall: Seats 1,300 people in its four levels, including orchestra seating, three tiers and a presidential box. Used for operas and orchestra and ballet performances
- Small Hall: Seats up to 500 people on a single floor; used for chamber music and recitals. Can double as a very large reception hall for important events.
- Open-air Theatre: Acoustically designed square that can be used for outdoor performances
[edit] Resident companies
- Cairo Symphony Orchestra
- Cairo Opera Company
- Cairo Opera Ballet Company
- National Arab Music Ensemble
- Abdel Halim Nowera Company
- Cairo Opera Orchestra
- Cairo Modern Dance Theater
- Heritage Ensemble for Arab Music
- Religious Song Ensemble
- Cairo Opera Choir
- Cairo Opera Children's Choir
[edit] External links
- Cairo Opera House website
- Cairo Opera House government website
- Press release from the Egyptian Cultural Center
- Cairo Opera Orchestra official site
[edit] See also
Coordinates: 30°02′33″N 31°13′25″E / 30.04245°N 31.22353°E
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