Khedivial Opera House

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Khedivial Opera House before burning down

The Khedivial Opera House or Royal Opera House (Arabic: دار أوبرا الخديوي) was the original opera house in Cairo, Egypt. It was dedicated on November 1, 1869 and burned down on October 28, 1971.

The opera house was built on the orders of the Khedive Ismail to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. The architects Pietro Avoscani (from Livorno) and Rossi designed the building. It seated approximately 850 people and was made mostly of wood. It was located between the districts of Azbakeya and Ismailyya in Egypt's capital city.

Verdi's opera Rigoletto was chosen as the first opera to be performed at the opera house on November 1, 1869. But already Ismail was planning a far grander exhibition for his new theatre. After months of delay due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Verdi's new opera, Aida, received its world premiere at the Khedivial Opera House on December 24, 1871.

In the early morning hours of October 28, 1971, the opera house burned to the ground. The all-wooden building was quickly consumed, and only two statues made by Mohammed Hassan survived.

After the original opera house was destroyed, Cairo was without an opera house for nearly two decades until the opening of the new Cairo Opera House in 1988.

The site where the Khedivial Opera House used to stand has been rebuilt into a rather bland multistory concrete car garage, but the square overlooking the building is still called Opera Square (Meidan El Opera)