The Opera Museum

The museum is located on the first floor of the Main Hall and is usually open before and during performances. One wing is completely devoted to documents relating the history of the Royal Cairo Opera House which was built in 1869 during the 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.

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

The other wing is dedicated 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 admire 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.