The Alexandria Opera Ensemble for Music & Arabic Singing, led by conductor Abdul Hamid Abdul Ghaffar will open the 2011 - 2012 Opera season with commemorative concerts marking the death of Egyptian composer Sayed Darwish, who died 88 years ago. The two concerts will be held Thursday, Sep 8 at the Sayed Darwish Theatre in the Alexandria Opera House, and Sep 9 at the Damanhur Theatre. Sayed Darwish was born in Kom Al-Dikka on 17 March 1892. He is known as one of the pioneers of Modern Arabic music, as a leader of the cultural renaissance that swept Egypt at the turn of the century, and for his tragically early death on 15 Sep. 1923. Darwish also wrote the music for Egyptian national anthem. Darwish wrote 26 musicals and 260 songs. His songs, such as “Salma Ya Salama,” “Zuruni Kull Sana Marra,” and “Al-Hilwa Diy Qamit Ti'gin,” are part of the fabric of Egyptian culture. Abdul Ghaffar hired a group of instrumentalists from the Cairo Opera house Symphony orchestra to perform a number of works, which he said make up an important part of the history of Arabic music. The conductor explained that the concert program would consist of the works of Sayed Darwish and other Arabic music classics by Abdel Halim Hafez, Abdel Wehab, Um Kulthoum, and others. The Alexandria Opera Ensemble for Music & Arab Singing was founded in 2004 and consists of 55 musicians. It has participated in music festivals and played in many of Egypt's Opera houses.
