By Salwa Samir Since the inauguration of its new premises in 1988, the Cairo Opera House has been playing a great role in maintaining and developing Egyptian culture and conscience through the top-quality art it presents. After the 2011 Revolution, it was badly affected by the unstable conditions, like other institutions in the country. In time, and because of the great efforts exerted by its current president, Inas Abdel-Dayem, the Opera House has made a recovery, has attracted large audiences and has been inviting foreign troupes to put on their shows in its various theatres, after a six-year pause. Abdel-Dayem, before appointed as the new minister of culture last January, said in an interview with the Egyptian Mail, "The return of the foreign musical troupes to perform again at the Opera, is one of the achievements of 2017 that has made us all happy; and we are working to attract more foreign troupes and musicians, this year. "The trust between the Opera and the troupes was protected and nurtured throughout the difficult times following the revolution. In time, the performers regained their trust in Egypt, and this trust reverberated, abroad," she said. Abdel-Dayem, an internationally-renowned flute player, added, "The Opera has a clear, year-long schedule that is published on its website, confirming to any visitor that Egypt is safe and any one can come and attend Opera performances, at any time. "It is easy for the Opera's prominent musicians to perform international works. But our aim is for foreign troupes to perform in Egypt, because they can then see for themselves that Egypt is safe and secure and the cultural scene is stable. Naturally, they convey these first-hand impressions to their people, at home," Abdel-Dayem said. She expressed her appreciation of the support offered by the European, Asian, South American and Arab embassies in Egypt, who have all been inviting their artists to perform at the Opera. The foreign artists and musicians performing at the Opera last year included: The Ballet Flamenco de Madrid, the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, the Kiev Chamber Orchestra, the Chinese Orchestra the "Golden Bel"', the Okinawa Song and Dance Theatre Company from Japan, Korea's S.With Saxophone Quartet and the Spanish flamenco singer Maria del Mar Fernandez. "The Opera is keen to attract every sector of society to its activities and the events it organises," said Abdel-Dayem. Last August, more than 75,000 people of various ages and from different walks of life attended performances of classical and jazz music, and international and Arab songs, at the 26th edition of the Citadel Festival of music and singing. Last November, the 26th edition of the Arab Music Festival was held over 15 days, at various theatres in Cairo, Alexandria and Damanhur. Participating in the event were 83 prominent singers from Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait and Syria, compared to 50 artists who took part in 2016. According to a yearly report published by the Cairo Opera House, about half a million people attended concerts at the Opera venues in 2017. About 929 concerts and cultural meetings were held. The report said that one of the most important achievements of the year was the implementation of the electronic reservation system for opera performances. Abdel-Dayem remembered the feedback from the Alexandrian audience after they attended musical events held at the Sayed Darwish Theatre (also known as the Alexandria Opera House) and the Roman Amphitheatre, last summer. "They said, ‘Your performances beautifully changed the summer'," she said. Abdel-Dayem, a holder of a PhD from the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, pointed out that the Opera House was not just reaching out to the young people, it was keen to reach children as well. The Talent Development Centre at the Cairo Opera House is playing an important role in developing children's minds and ideas by bringing out their talent and teaching them different kinds of art such as learning to play various musical instruments, to sing and to dance ballet. "The children are our target now," Abdel-Dayem said. "When the children grow up they will benefit society and will never have extreme thoughts. This is a very important role that the centre has undertaken; and it has branches in Alexandria and Damanhur. I hope to cover all the governorates in the near future," she explained. Abdel-Dayem has held many posts prior to her recent appointment as Minister of Culture, and before becoming president of the Cairo Opera House in 2012. She was director of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra in 2003, dean of the Cairo Conservatoire in 2005, vice-president of the Academy of Arts and Egypt's Minister of Culture in 2013. Last December, she was appointed to another post, that of president of the Arab Music Academy, which is affiliated to the Arab League and deals with music affairs in the Arab world. She is the sixth president since the academy was founded in 1971, and the second Egyptian to take up the position after Ratiba El-Hefni (1931 -2013), an international Opera soprano. "The mission I will be focusing on is to achieve more coordination between Arab countries over music and the preservation of the Arab musical heritage," said Abdel-Dayem, who will be president of the academy for the next four years.
