Cairo Opera House
Cairo Opera House | History of the construction of the G General Authority for National Cultural Center

Cairo Opera HousePlaces to Visit in Cairo, Egypt

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The history of building the most important tourist attractions in Cairo, the General Authority of the National Cultural Center in Cairo, and the most beautiful tourist outings in Giza for lovers of fine art.

Cairo Opera House Facts

Learn about the Talent Development Center, theaters, cultural centers, the schedule of concerts and shows at the house, ticket prices, and more to start your tourist trip to Egypt..

The Opera House is one of the most important landmarks in Cairo that tourists can visit, as the Egyptian Opera House includes many historical and archaeological halls that can be visited..

Theaters and Cultural Centers Egyptian Opera House:

Al Hanager Arts Center: It includes an exhibition hall and a small theater for free performances..

Opera Music Library: Attached to it is an art exhibition hall..

Artistic Creativity Center: affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.

Museum of Modern Egyptian Art

The Grand Theatre of the Egyptian Opera House: Specialised for opera and large-scale musical performances, with a capacity of 1,200 seats..

Small Theater: It specializes in holding seminars, cultural evenings, as well as small and informal artistic performances. It can accommodate about 500 seats..

Open-air theatre: dedicated to summer and youth shows, with a capacity of about 600 seats. Many local and international shows have been held there.

Syndicate of Fine Artists

Palace of Arts: A large exhibition displaying artworks and visual arts..

You can visit the Egyptian Opera House Museum on the first floor, as the museum was designed in two wings. The first wing contains historical documents related to the opera, and the second contains catalogues of the shows presented by the National Cultural Center..

In the second wing, you will see a 2.17-meter-long, 10-cm-diameter Naya made of French ash and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, in addition to a rare piano and some clothes donated by the Austrian Opera House, in addition to a general model of the new Egyptian Opera House in its current condition and historical photographs from the time the opera was established..

You can visit the music library, which was designed into 4 halls: (a reading hall, a special hall for video display, a listening hall, and a hall for investigating the Arab musical heritage).).

The library at the Egyptian Opera House has been provided with a rare collection of rare musical pieces from around the world in the form of CDs, videotapes and cassettes, in addition to Arabic and foreign books, magazines, newspapers, slides and models of artistic performances presented by the theatres at the National Cultural Centre..

You can visit the Fine Arts Hall daily from 10 am to 2 pm and then from 4.30 pm to 8.30 pm, and Friday is an official holiday in the Art Gallery..

The art gallery is designed on an area of ​​120 meters per floor, in addition to providing all parts of the opera with the highest quality surveillance cameras to protect against theft..

Documentary tapes are displayed in the art gallery for students of art colleges in Egypt and anyone looking to learn about the history and art of the Egyptian Opera, in addition to providing special places for senior artists in art schools such as surrealism, realism, symbolism, impressionism and cubism to combine the arts of Egyptian civilization with the arts and cultures of peoples around the world..

The art of Arabic calligraphy is displayed annually at the exhibition, in addition to the exhibition hall’s participation in international triennials, cultural festivals and artistic events such as Egypt-Italy Day and the celebration of International Women’s Day at the National Cultural Center..

The National Cultural Center has been developed and restored, and includes an exhibition hall, dressing rooms, special rooms for artists, rehearsal halls, training rooms, a restaurant, a library, a museum to display the history of the Egyptian Opera House, some training classes, and fashion workshops..

Talent Center:

The administration of the Egyptian Opera House was interested in establishing a special center for developing children’s talents to raise the level and improve performance. The following was established in April 1992 AD::

Piano class for children aged 10 to 20.

Talent discovery studio from 16 years old.

Ballet class for ages 6 to 11.

Opera choir class, starting from 6 years old to 11 years old.

A class for learning to play the violin, known as the Suzuki art, starting at the age of 4 years..

Department of teaching playing Arabic and oriental instruments

A class for learning to read musical notes, known as the Solfege Center..

History of the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo:

The art of opera dates back to the history of the Pharaonic civilization “Ancient Egypt History“, especially the civilization of Ancient Egypt, and to the development of the harp, which evolved from Music in Ancient Egypt until it became the oriental oud in our current time..

The idea of ​​establishing the Egyptian Opera House goes back to Khedive Ismail Pasha love for the art of opera in Europe.

He built the house in the Italian style under the supervision of the engineer Avoskani and the engineer Rossi, in addition to paying attention to the interior decorations and engravings of the building..

The idea of ​​presenting the opera Aida, which has Egyptian origins, dates back to when Mariette Pasha asked Khedive Ismail to create a special show about Egyptian civilization. He commissioned the Italian poet Gebala Nazouk and the musician Verdi to create, write and compose the opera Aida..

The Egyptian Opera House was opened in November 1869 AD with the performance of Rigoletto. The opening time coincided with the Suez Canal celebrations, but unfortunately the Egyptian Opera House burned down completely in October 1971 AD, and nothing remained of it except the Prosperity Statue and the Renaissance of Arts Statue..

The construction of the old opera house dates back to the period of prosperity that Egypt experienced during the era of Khedive Ismail in all fields..

The Egyptian Opera House was first located in the Azbakeya district in downtown Cairo. It was opened on the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal during the reign of Khedive Ismail, and was named “Khedivial Opera House.”“

At the opening ceremony of the Egyptian Opera House, Khedive Ismail invited a large number of European kings and queens. The opera was built in only six months after its design was drawn up by the Italian engineers Avoscani and Ross..

Khedive Ismail’s desire was directed towards an Egyptian opera with which to inaugurate the Khedivial Opera House. It was the opera Aida, whose music was composed by the Italian musician Verdi, but circumstances prevented it from being presented at the time of the opening ceremony.

Instead, the Italian opera Rigoletto was presented at the official opening, which was attended by Khedive Ismail, Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, the King of Austria, and the Crown Prince of Prussia..

Egyptian Opera House in the present era

It was opened during the reign of former President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak on October 10, 1988 AD, after an absence of 17 years..

In October 1988, the Opera House was inaugurated in the presence of former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito of Mikasa..

The new Egyptian Opera House was built in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. An agreement was reached on a design that is in harmony with the surrounding buildings..

Its design is characterized by an Islamic character, as the construction area includes 22,772 square meters, while the building itself is located on an area of ​​13,855 square meters, with a height of 42 meters..

The location of the Egyptian Opera House is unique, as it is located in the southern part of the island area and is surrounded by water on all sides, which means that the abundance of Nile water in this area leads to the abundance of trees in the garden surrounding the Opera House..

Japan participated in the opening of the National Cultural Center with a Kabuki performance by a troupe of 50 members..

Local bands at the Cairo Opera House:

Cairo Opera Ballet Company

Cairo Symphony Orchestra

Cairo Opera Choir

Cairo Opera Company.

Cairo Opera Orchestra

A cappella coral

Egyptian Modern Dance Theater Company

Abdel Halim Nouira Arabic Music Band

National Arabic Music Ensemble

Alexandria Opera Orchestra for Arabic Music

Arabic Heritage Music Ensemble

Religious chanting band

Visiting hours of the Egyptian Opera House.

The Opera House can be visited at any time depending on the concert you are attending.

Ticket prices: Ticket prices vary depending on the concerts.

Opera House Address: Tahrir Street, El Gezira Tower – Zamalek, Cairo, P.O. Box: 11567 El Gezira Tower

Website link: You can visit the official website of the Egyptian Opera House and learn about the annual performance programs for this year.

Note: Facts and secrets of the history will be added soon…

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Cairo Opera House | History of the construction of the G General Authority for National Cultural Center
Cairo Opera House | History of the construction of the G General Authority for National Cultural Center

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Tamer Ahmed
Eng. Tamer Ahmed | Researcher in Ancient Egypt History and Egyptology. Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, 2004 Tourism and E-marketing Expert I love Egypt and I strive to develop tourism. Booking Your Tours Online Whatsapp: +201112596434