Cairo Opera House
Encyclopedia
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
's National Cultural Center, is the main performing arts venue in the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of Gezira Island
Gezira Island
Gezira Island is located in the Nile River, in central Cairo, Egypt. The southern portion of the island contains the Gezira District, and the northern third contains the affluent Zamalek District....
in the Nile River, in the Zamalek
Zamalek
Zamalek Sporting Club , is an Egyptian sporting club based in Meet Okba, Giza, Egypt that plays in the Egyptian Premier League....
district west of and near downtown Cairo
Downtown Cairo
Downtown Cairo, , has been the urban center of Cairo, Egypt since the late 19th century, when the district was designed and built.-History:The area, designed by prestigious French architects was commissioned by Khedive Ismail...
.
History
The opera houseOpera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
was inaugurated on October 10, 1988. The funds for the complex were a gift from the nation of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
as a result of President
President of Egypt
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government....
Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
's visit to Japan in April 1983. Construction began in May 1985 and lasted for three years.
In October 1988, President Mubarak and His Imperial 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
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
show, a traditional popular drama with singing and dancing, in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
or the Arab World
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
.
In recognition of the Cairo Opera House, the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
chose it as a venue for their first performance in the Middle East and Africa in January 2007.http://travelvideo.tv/news/more.php?id=10645_0_1_0_M
Khedivial Opera House
In 1869, Khedive Ismail gave instructions to build an opera house to celebrate the opening of the Suez CanalSuez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. 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
Rossi
Rossi is an Italian surname, said to be the most common surname in Italy. Due to Italian emigration, it is also very common in other countries, including the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and France. Rossi is the plural of Rosso although it is argued the surname derives from...
, the opera house was completed in six months, in the center of Cairo near the Azbakeya
Azbakeya
Azbakeya is one of the districts of Cairo, Egypt in the centre of Cairo, and contains many historically important establishments.One of these is the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral , which was inaugurated by Pope Mark VIII in 1800. and served as the seat of the Coptic Pope in Cairo from...
district.
The Khedive commissioned a performance that should reflect the 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
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
. 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
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
was neither commissioned for the inauguration of the Opera House nor for the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. 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 28, 1971, the great Khedivial Royal Opera House was completely destroyed by a fire.
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 shaped stage used for outdoor performances, seats 600 people.
Resident companies
- Cairo Symphony OrchestraCairo Symphony OrchestraThe Cairo Symphony Orchestra, , is an orchestra based in Cairo, Egypt. It was founded in 1959 by its first music director and conductor, Franz Litschauer...
- Cairo Opera Company
- Cairo Opera Ballet CompanyCairo Opera Ballet CompanyThe Cairo Opera Ballet Company was established in 1966 and is associated with the Higher Ballet Institute at the Academy of Arts .-History:The company’s members were first coached by Soviet ballet experts...
- 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
See also
- Cairo ConservatoireCairo ConservatoireThe Cairo Conservatoire is the primary music conservatory in Egypt. It was established in 1959 and is located in the same building complex as the Cinema Institute and the Higher Institute for Theatrical Arts, Haram, Giza, Greater Cairo, while the Cairo Symphony Orchestra is based at Cairo Opera...
- List of concert halls
- Sherif SonbolSherif SonbolSherif Sonbol is a photographer specializing in architecture, scenic fine arts and photojournalism.- Early life :...
- (Cairo Opera House official photographer)