Cairo Opera House marks 38 years with a 500-artist gala tonight

The Cairo Opera House celebrates 38 years since its 1988 opening with a gala on the Grand Theatre stage tonight, Saturday 10 October, at 8pm. More than 500 artists from the Opera's companies take part, in a programme directed by Hisham El-Telly.

The evening opens with the national anthem and an Arabic music section, then the Cairo Symphony Orchestra under Nader Abbassi with the Acapella Choir, including the first performance at this celebration of Mohamed Abdel Wahab's operetta "Al-Watan Al-Akbar", Orff's "Carmina Burana" and Mascagni's "Hymn to the Sun". The Cairo Opera Ballet Company dances excerpts from "Romeo and Juliet" and Omar Khairat's "The Nile Ballet", and the Cairo Opera Company sings scenes from Verdi, Gounod, Kalman and Donizetti.

The night closes with a documentary on the Opera's history, with rare footage from the old Khedivial Opera. Bookings are made through the Opera's website, which links to Tazkarti.