Cairo Opera House
The Cairo Opera House ( Arabic دار الأوبرا المصرية, DMG Dār al-Ūbirā al-Miṣriyya ) belongs to the Cairo National Cultural Center and is the most important theater in the Egyptian capital. It is located in the southern part of the Nile island of Gezira in the Zamalek district , not far from downtown Cairo, and is home to several music, theater and dance ensembles.
history
The Cairo Opera House is a gift from Japan and goes back to the state visit of Egyptian President Husni Mubarak to Japan in April 1983. Construction began in May 1985 and the inauguration took place on October 10, 1988 in the presence of Mubarak and Prince Tomohito von Mikasa , a cousin of the Japanese emperor Akihito . During the opening ceremony, a Japanese kabuki piece was performed for the first time in Africa .
Previously, Cairo had not owned an opera house for several years after the Royal Khedivial Opera House, built in 1869, was completely destroyed by fire in the early hours of October 28, 1971.
There is also the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman in the Arab world , which opened in 2011. Another Arab opera house is the Dubai Opera , which opened in August 2016. The old “Opera” cinema in Beirut , which is variously referred to as the “opera house”, was just a cinema. It was converted into a Virgin Megastore in 2001 .
Premises
The large hall of the house holds up to 1200 spectators, another smaller hall up to 500 spectators.
Web links
- Official website (Arabic, English, French)
Coordinates: 30 ° 2 ′ 32.8 ″ N , 31 ° 13 ′ 24.7 ″ E