Russian and Egyptian presidents visit gala concert at Cairo Opera House

CAIRO, February 9 /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin who is paying an official visit to Egypt and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited the Cairo Opera House which gave a gala concert in Putin’s honor. The two leaders entered the hall to the sounds of fanfares from part 4 of Sergei Prokofiev’s Sympnony No.1. The gala’s programme included extracts from classical Russian music pieces as well as traditional oriental dances. The Opera’s orchestra played The Festive Overture by Dmitry Shostakovich; two extracts from Sergei Prokofiev’s Cantata "Arise, Russian people!" and "Alexander’s Entry into Pskov"; the fourth act from Tchaikovsky’s ballet "The Swan Lake" and the Triumph scene from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera "Aida". The Cairo Opera House was built to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. It was called the Khedivial /Royal/ Opera House. Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi composed his opera "Aida’ for the Khedivial Opera House where it was performed for the first time. The old opera burnt down in 1971. The modern Cairo Opera House was built by Japanese architects in 1988. Since that time, the opera has been the leading stage and an important cultural center of Egypt, the African continent and the Middle East. The Cairo Opera House has a four-tier main hall for 1,300 people; a 500-seat one-tier small hall as well as an outdoor theatre for 1,000 people. Read more