Cairo Opera House

About Us

President Mubarak inaugurated the new Cairo Opera House of the Egyptian National Cultural Center on October 10th 1988, seventeen years after the Royal Opera House had been destroyed by fire.

The National Cultural Center was built with the help of JICA, the Japan International Co-operation Agency and stands as a prominent feature for the Japanese-Egyptian co-operation and the deep-rooted friendship between these two nations.

In intensive meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Culture in Cairo and JICA a design was worked out that would harmonise with the surrounding buildings and bring to mind traditional Islamic architecture.

In March 1985, President Mubarak laid the first corner stone of the project after a year and a half had been spent on careful planning and designing of the building. Almost three years later, and thanks to the tremendous efforts and craftsmanship of architects, engineers and workmen this prominent and unique cultural center was completed.

In October 1988, President Mubarak and His Highness Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, the younger brother of the Japanese Emperor, inaugurated the National Cultural Center “Cairo Opera House” in a remarkable ceremony. It was the first time for the Japanese to stage a Kabuki show, a traditional popular drama with singing and dancing in Africa or the Arab World.

Thus, the joint efforts of Japanese and Egyptians has given rise to a unique landmark which celebrates the rich and diverse cultural life not only of Egypt but of neighbouring nations in Africa and the Middle East as well.

Egypt is proud to be the only state in the region which built two opera houses within a bit more than a century.

The Opera Museum which is located on the first floor of the Opera House is divided into two wings. The first wing is completely devoted to documents relating the history of the Royal Cairo Opera House. It was built in 1869 during El Khedive Ismail's reign by Italian architects Avoscani and Rossi.

On display are rare photos of the building, including some of the night the Royal Cairo Opera House burnt down in 1971, photos of several of the most important artistic performances, and a number of brochures of the concerts given at the Royal Cairo Opera House. Unfortunately, nothing else could be rescued from the fire except for two statues by artist Mohamed Hassan and a small model of the opera.

The first wing also exhibits costumes, jewellery, and musical scores of the opera Aida. Some historical documents written in Italian about the artistic performances of the Royal Cairo Opera House from 1869 until 1907 are shown as well.

The second wing is entirely devoted to the New Cairo Opera House which was inaugurated in 1988. There are several posters of the most important artistic performances of all the opera’s theatres: Main Hall, Small Hall, and Open Air Theatre, and brochures of the renowned international artistic companies that performed in Egypt.

Visitors can also see a huge nay (oriental flute) about 10 cm wide and more than 2 m long. It is made of ornamented wood. Another rare piece is a piano with additional keys on its keyboard allowing for oriental tunes to be played. There are costumes given to the New Cairo Opera House by the Vienna State Opera, and a model of the New Opera House buildings and photos while it was under construction.