The National Cultural Centre
The National Cultural Centre is part of
the Ministry of Culture and serves as an
umbrella organization for all the music
or dance companies, galleries, museums
and the educational programs of the
Cairo Opera House.
It was established in 1988 with the
inauguration of the new Cairo Opera
House. Its goal is to promote the arts
of music and dance and to preserve and
renew traditional Arab music. In order
to be more than just a place where music
and art are performed the National
Cultural Centre wants to give space to
learning and inspiration, to the
exchange of ideas, the respect of a
common cultural heritage, and a shared
passion for the arts. It encourages
interest for music and art in the
younger generation by offering ballet,
voice or instrumental classes for
talented children or youths.
Performances of ballet, operatic or
symphonic works are staged with Egyptian
companies or in cooperation with foreign
ensembles or soloists. Seminars and
cultural conferences covering a wide
range of artistic and intellectual
issues are held regularly.
Opera House companies are frequently
sent on tours to different Egyptian
governorates to give the people in urban
areas the chance to see national and
international art performances.
In March 1985,
Former President Mubarak laid
the first corner stone of the new Cairo
Opera House which was to be built with
the support of JICA, the Japan
International Cooperation Agency.
Careful planning by the Ministry of
Culture in Cairo and the JICA produced a
design suggestive of traditional Islamic
architecture and blending in
harmoniously with the surrounding
buildings.
In October 1988,Former President Mubarak and
His Highness, Prince Tomohito of Mikasa,
the younger brother of the Japanese
Emperor, inaugurated the National
Cultural Centre “Cairo Opera House” in a
remarkable ceremony. 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.
Thus, the joint efforts of Japan and
Egypt have given rise to a unique
landmark of aesthetic and cultural
interest.
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