The Cairo Opera Company has planned two shows for Christmas at the Small Theater of the Cairo Opera House.
The shows are scheduled for December 22 and 23 at 8 pm and ticket prices range between LE10 and LE20.
Performers who would take part in the two events include soprano Jacqueline Rafiq, baritone Ezzat Ghanem, and pianist Greg Martin.
The first part of the show's program includes a variety of the most popular Christmas songs, and the second includes Italian musician Carlo Menotti's comic opera "The Telephone".
The Telephone revolves around Lucy, who spends most of her time in telephone conversations. Each time her boyfriend Ben asks for her hand, he is interrupted by the phone ringing until he decides that the only way to propose is through a phone call.
The Cairo Opera Company was officially formed in April 1964. They performed the world-famous La Traviata opera for the first time in the Arabic language.
They also performed many successful shows like Madam Butterfly, the Dancing Years and the Ninth Symphony until the 1971 Opera House fire, which totally destroyed the building and costume stores of the company.
The Cairo Opera Company then moved to Al-Gomhuriya theater in downtown Cairo and Sayed Darwish theater in downtown Alexandria. They moved to the new Cairo Opera House located on Gezira island, after the inauguration of the new building in 1988.
New voices joined the troupe like singers Reda al-Wakil, Eman Mostafa, Nevin Allouba, and Hanan al-Gendy. The repertoire of the Cairo Opera currently includes 32 operas adopted from international works, starting from the Baroque Period until today.
