Just days prior to conducting the United Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert featuring soprano Fatma Said at the new Grand…
‘Signs are only signs when we choose to believe in them’: Nouran AbuTaleb on new release Betshoof Alamat
Egyptian singer Nouran AbuTaleb released Betshoof Alamat (You See Signs) on Friday. This is the first song from an album…
Basem Darwisch: Finding oneself
When speaking of cultural fusion, composer, oud player, and music manager Basem Darwisch is among the first names that comes…
A lot to choose from: On the multitude of Egypt’s art and culture festivals
The second half of 2022 brings an increased presence of artistic activities to many Egyptian cities. The current months are…
Beyond Chopin
Shahd Magdy, Andrew Milad, Mahmoud El-Batran and Mostafa Hassan are the names of the young Egyptian pianists who won the…
Lessons in theatre: On Duncan Macmillan’s play ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ in Cairo
Duncan Macmillan’s play Every Brilliant Thing was staged in Egyptian Arabic at the Rawabet Art Space in Cairo Every Brilliant…
Sacred sounds: On Mozart’s Requiem in Cairo
Mozart’s Requiem was performed in Cairo on two consecutive evenings, 12 and 13 May. Among the core values of music…
A musical koshari
Have performers from different nationalities cook traditional Egyptian songs, but spice it all up with an Egyptian darbouka and an…
Shaking it up again: Yakout on presiding over Cairo Int’l Festival for Experimental Theatre
Gamal Yakout, the newly appointed president of the festival’s 28th edition scheduled for December 2021, talks about his vision and…
Tarek Raouf Ensemble: A brand new Egyptian band bids on modern jazz
With a four-horn jazz combo and an Indian tabla, the new band brings a new interesting colour to the Egyptian…
Rowan Maher explores tunes of Egyptian cinema through its songs
Accompanied by seven musicians, Maher will present a series of songs from the known Egyptian films of the 2000s A…
Cairotronica: Platform for media artists to ruminate on digital technology’s impact on life
Brain child of Haytham Nawar, this year’s Cairotronica was themed ‘Data Fiction’ and took place across two venues: Factory space…
Egyptian saxophonist Nour Ashour longs for ‘wanas’ in his first track composed during quarantine
Titled ‘Wanas’, the track is the first in a series of compositions coming from Ashour’s home studio in King Mariout…
‘I Passed By…’: History of Egyptian theatre through Manal Ebrahim’s personal creative journey
The long-standing assistant director and director Manal Ebrahim’s unique exhibition which took place last March bears witness to the Egyptian…
Revisiting silence and emotional distortions in multi-award-winning Sound of Metal
A showcase of the performers’ abilities and directed by Darius Marder, film Sound of Metal looks into the tragedy of…
Egyptian cultural manager Ahmed El-Attar discusses his art ecosystem
‘Keep dreaming with your feet on the ground,’ art manager Ahmed El-Attar said on his creative ecosystem In early March,…
Oud, guitar and percussion: Ali Omar El-Farouk’s trio readies for their first Cairo concert
In their upcoming concert, the newly formed trio will feature Ali Omar El-Farouk (oud, guitar, bağlama), Hany Bedair (cajón and…
A decade later: On Egypt’s music scene 2011-2020
It is the dawn of 2011, the year of the revolution… And many new songs are coming out of the…
All strings attached: A heartwarming debut of Egypt’s Isis String Orchestra for amateur musicians
The orchestra gave two consecutive concerts on Thursday 26 November, at the All Saints’ Cathedral in Zamalek Amateur music ensembles…
Sharm El-Sheikh International Theatre Festival for Youth: Beating the pandemic
The festival’s fifth edition took place between 16 and 20 November 2020 Despite Covid-19 making even a one-off event, let…
Egyptian singer Zahra Ramy releases first original ‘I Gave Up’
The 30 October 2020 concert will mark the official launch of Ramy’s band Mixer Egyptian radio presenter, singer and actress…
Unusual ending to unusual edition of 27th Cairo Int’l Festival for Experimental Theatre
The festival took place despite the previous ministerial plans to cancel this year’s edition due to the coronavirus pandemic On…
Bringing back the ‘music monologue’ with a twist: Bahgaga band to celebrate 5th anniversary with concert
Founded by an Egyptian composer Ayman Helmy in 2015, Bahgaga fuses songs with light acting, presenting the repertoire in a…
After the Sun Goes Down: Massar Egbari’s guitarist Mahmoud Siam releases new track
The new track comes after many nights spent in the studio during curfew Mahmoud Siam, the guitarist of Egypt’s well-known…
Egypt’s independent music scene in dire straits as cultural shutdown continues
With the fourth month with no income, Egypt’s independent musicians, DJ’s, technicians, sound engineers and thousand of others in the…
INTERVIEW: Egypt’s culture minister Ines Abdel-Dayem on the arts scene, plans in the face of Covid-19
With the difficult financial situation faced by artists being an urgent topic, Abdel-Dayem discusses solutions and redraws the map of…
Remembering Demis Roussos: Alexandria-born Greek singer who engraved himself in the hearts of Egyptian listeners
Renowned internationally and particularly beloved by Egyptian listeners, the master of musical nostalgia Demis Roussos was born on 15 June…
Obituary: David Hales, Egypt-based British pianist, vocal coach and Cairo’s hidden pillar
British pianist, vocal coach and repetiteur David Llewellyn Hales died on 31 May 2020 in Cairo News of David Hales…
While international orchestras gradually resume activities, the Cairo Symphony’s future remains vague
The musicians of Egypt’s oldest national orchestra are finding it hard to keep their spirits high and make ends meet…
Zorba online: Unique history of one of the Cairo Opera Ballet Company’s most triumphant works
The staging of Zorba will be made available by the Ministry of Culture on its YouTube channel, starting 7 June…
Review: Royal Ballet’s Anastasia, delightful reflections at home
Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia was made available for two weeks starting 15 May on the Royal Opera’s YouTube channel They say…
‘The dancers are eager to get back to the stage’: Erminia Kamel, Cairo Opera Ballet’s artistic director
After two months of suspension of all cultural activities, Erminia Kamel talks about the Egyptian ballet company’s situation, saddened by…
Massar Egbari’s keyboardist Ayman Massoud starts electronic music project
While continuing to perform with the well known band Massar Egbari, a new endeavour might take Massoud to many fascinating…
Pianos for Peace: Syrian pianist, composer Malek Jandali
Jandali’s upcoming album, The Jasmine Tree – yet another ode to the rich history and beauty of Syrian culture –…
Apropos of music: Meditation on a personal love for Chopin
The Poet of the Piano, Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, is part of the international musical consciousness; he is timeless with…
Myths and methadone: Will Egypt’s laws bend to the rising tide of drug abuse?
The real revolution is yet to come when it relates to the country’s opioid epidemic. Published in Bhekisisa, Centre for…
Swan Lake: Dreamy poetry, seductive magic on Cairo and Alexandria stages
Tchaikovsky’s famed ballet is performed in Cairo between 10 and 13 January followed by Alexandria performances on 17 and 18…
Women of Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra: A vibrant plethora of musicians, talents, personalities
Al Nour Wal Amal Chamber Orchestra for the blind and visually impaired woman musicians has just returned from their 31st…
‘It is not easy but with perseverance, everything is possible’: Egyptian tenor Ragaa Eldin
Most recently, the young Egyptian tenor Ragaa Eldin won the Association of Opera and Operetta Enthusiasts award during the International…
Football like you’ve never seen it: On the pitch with this blind soccer team
Blind football represents hope and belonging for Egypt’s one million visually impaired. This story was originally published in Bhekisisa (Mail…
Cornucopia of art and knowledge: Bigger and brighter 5th India by Nile festival
The fifth edition of India by the Nile, the biggest foreign arts and culture festival held in Egypt, stretched over…
India’s dancer Aditi Mangaldas weaves the silver threads of Kathak into Egyptian audience
Aditi Mangaldas performed ‘Uncharted Seas’ in Cairo and Alexandria, as part of the India by the Nile festival In her…
Switzerland’s HORA Theatre invites Cairo audience to look differently at disabilities
Part of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival’s programming, the Disabled Theatre was staged on 21 and 22 March at AUC’s…
A play for every child: Egypt’s 7th Hakawy International Arts Festival
The Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children that took place between 7 and 16 March brought theatre and other activities…
‘Good theatre for children is essential’: UK’s renowned ‘scrapologist’ Patricia Baker in Cairo
Created by Shona Reppe, the Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean was performed within the Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children…
Closer to the people: British practices in education, inclusion, outreach through music
Following the belief that music is a journey that breaks down many barriers, UK’s cultural managers use music as a…
The East Anglia maqamat: When Egyptian musicians meet UK’s young talents
Between 12 and 17 February, the musicians from the European Egyptian Contemporary Music Society held workshops for the talents enrolled…
Remembering Ali Osman: Composer, academic and conductor of Egypt’s Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra
Egypt’s music scene lost Ali Osman, Sudanese composer, conductor, educator and a man whose work with Al Nour Wal Amal,…
Music for the entire community: Inclusion as a practice from Britten’s UK home
The Snape Maltings’ Learning and Inclusion department uses music to embrace community at large – children, differently-abled, elderly and prison…
When two choirs perform together: Egypt and Jordan musical connection
Egypt’s Cairo Celebration Choir and Jordan’s Dozan Wa Awtar performed together, in Cairo on 3 February and in Alexandria on…
Obituary: Nehad Selaiha, theatre activist, scholar, godmother
On 6 January, the Egyptian culture scene lost Nehad Selaiha: a bilingual scholar, translator, historian, writer and critic with a…
When the going gets tough: On challenges that 2016 brought upon Egypt’s cultural scene
In 2016, Egypt saw many economic and legal changes that impacted arts and culture scene. The cultural players will now…
Cairo Choral Society joins Egypt Christmas season with Schubert’s Mass in G
In their concerts on 7 and 8 December, the Cairo Choir Society conducted by John Baboukis, interweaved Schubert’s Mass in…
Uncovering the face of faceless art: On Egypt’s graffiti artist Keizer, the ant and the city
With the ant being his mascot, or logo, Keizer’s large body of work includes thematic content that ranges from political…
Ode to beauty: Reset – A page from Paris Opera Ballet’s history
Directed by Demaizière and Teurlai, Reset: A Story of Creation has been screened at the 9th Panorama of the European…
Ballet Carmen: Antonio Gades company brings Spanish reverie to Egypt
Ballet Carmen, one of the iconic works by late master flamenco dancer and choreographer Antonio Gades, was staged in Cairo…
Radames of Orleans: Egypt’s tenor Georges Wanis talks about Aida, international career, passions
Georges Wanis will sing opera Aida in Orleans in March. This is one of the many international commitments of the…
India’s Kathakali dance-drama unfolds colors of Kerala in Egypt
In the last decade the Egyptian audience has seen much from India – but not Kathakali dance-drama. Finally, this visually…
Wholesome brass: El-Nafikha band introduces a new recipe to Egypt’s music fans
In a short time, a unique flavour of El Nafikha brass quintet has generated interest, appreciation of every generation of…
Celebrating summer with festivals: Egypt and Arab region join the seasonal gleam
From Tunisia and Algeria to Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine… Summer calls for festivals to infuse the regional stages with events…
Birds of Upper Egypt: Children choir sings in Cairo
On 20 June, Children Choir operating under the Association of Upper Egypt for Education and Development performed at Talaat Harb…
Beyond Spirituality: Cairo Celebration Choir perform Beethoven’s Mass in C
The Cairo Celebration Choir gave Egypt’s premiere of Beethoven’s Mass in C major at All Saints Cathedral on 16 June,…
‘Dance to inspire and elevate’: Dona Ganguly brings India’s Odissi to Egypt
With India by the Nile followed by the Tagore Festival, last weeks brought a lot of cultural offerings from India…
‘In India I became in touch with the texture of life’: French choreographer Gilles Chuyen
During his recent stay in Cairo, India-based French dancer and choreographer Gilles Chuyen spoke with Ahram Online about the Bollywood-style…
‘Art is not an intruder on society’: Rana Yazaji, Syrian cultural activist and Al Mawred’s director
Syrian cultural activist and managing director of Al Mawred Al Thaqafy talks about her passions and how, following the months-long…
سحر الجنينة فى حديقة الأزهر
يستعد مسرح الجنينة بالقاهرة لإطلاق حفلات موسيقية لموسمه لعام 2016، حيث تبدأ الفاعليات…
Magic of music: Renowned Swiss maestro on his career and art of conducting
The Swiss, Germany-based internationally renowned conductor Christoph-Mathias Mueller talks about his profession, an unconditional passion for music, art of conducting…
INTERVIEW: Cairo Opera Ballet’s artistic director on busy season, performances in Bahrain
Artistic Director Erminia Kamel talks about the Cairo Opera Ballet’s Company busy season prior to their yet another international appearance…
مصر و أوبرا عايدة
تقدم دار الأوبرا المصرية أربعة عروض لأوبرا عايدة بقيادة المايسترو ديفيد كريشنسى و إخراج عبد المنعم كامل «عايدة»، تعد واحدة…
Entretien — Andreas Pichler : Nous traitons les enfants comme des partenaires à part entière
Al-Ahram Hebdo : Comment est né votre spectacle Kling, Kleines Ding (pling, petite chose) récemment donné au Caire, dans le…
Stick Stones Broken Bones: Australia’s puppet theatre performs in Cairo
This year, the Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children featured the first contribution by Australia with Stick Stones Broken Bones…
Irresistible warning sign ‘Do not touch’ opens Egypt’s Hakawy Festival for children
On 4 March, a performance Aga Boom by the Theatre of Physical Comedy from the United States opened the Hakawy…
INTERVIEW: Perfectionism – introducing Egypt’s most recent opera star
When Fatma Said was announced the winner of eighth Veronica Dunne International Opera Competition in Dublin, Ireland, the news spread…
Passion calling
Tango, the dance of passion, remains one of the most visually attractive performance art forms which celebrates the body in…
The interpretation of dreams
Staged at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall on 27 and 28 January, A Sculptor’s Dream, directed and choreographed by…
‘Egypt is within me’: Prima ballerina Magda Saleh on her career and the gilded years
Renowned ballerina, a graduate of the Bolshoi ballet academy and Cairo’s Academy of Arts, former dean of the Higher Institute…
The devil is in the expectations: Spanish coffeehouse presented at the Cairo Opera
Between 5 and 8 January, the Cairo Opera House staged a performance inspired by the famed Spanish coffeehouse Café Gijón…
Confronting fear: how year 2015 brought Egypt’s audiences closer to classical music
Belief ‘you are not expected to like everything,’ seemed to be at the heart of approach to the audiences in…
Against all odds: Stories of the visually impaired women from Egypt’s Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra
Girls and women from Egypt’s unique Al Nour Wal Amal Orchestra talk about their lives, joys and challenges embedded in…
Ars longa, vita brevis — Shakespeare, Mendelssohn, Per Poc Puppet Theatre: A many-sided conjunction at the Cairo Opera
Between 23 and 25 October, the Cairo Symphony Chamber Orchestra joined by the Per Poc Puppet Theatre from Spain performed…
Coppélia ballet premieres in Egypt: A dash of magic and lots of art
A magical tale, Coppélia was performed by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company, attracting whole families to the Opera House in…
Egyptian fishing village gets a vibrant makeover from local and international artists
In two weeks time, a group of artists painted the walls and boats of Borg El-Borollos, a small fishing town…
‘It’s a story of hope’: Egypt’s filmmaker on his rockumentary about Les Petits Chats
Young director Sherif Nakhla revives Egypt’s golden years through the rockumetary on the well-known band of the time, Les Petits…
Gandhi by Egyptian cartoonists, remembering old premises of Indian Cultural Centre in Cairo
The exhibition, which opened on 4 October, commemorates famed peacemaker Mahatma Gandhi, yet also triggers thoughts about the former and…
INTERVIEW: Ragaa Eldin: An Egyptian tenor finding his voice in Europe
A talk with the young tenor Ragaa Eldin about his path to success, international recognition, and the many shunned operatic talents…
Not so spectacular: Cairo Opera’s Moulin Rouge
Performed at the main hall of the Cairo Opera House last week, the Egyptian take on iconic Moulin Rouge musical…
Cats, children and strings: Awtar Quartet visits Cairo’s poor neighborhood
Awtar Quartet brought music and storytelling to Artellewa arts centre and Tawasol School in Stabl Antar, both located at the…
INTERVIEW: Basma El-Husseiny, from Culture Resource to Syrian refugees in Lebanon
Cultural activist Basma El-Husseiny talks about the now Beirut-based Culture Resource, the reason behind suspending its activities in Egypt, the…
Ati Metwaly 