A call for recalibration: Past, present and future of Arab Music Festival

As the 34th Arab Music Festival approaches amid a wave of artist withdrawals and rallying expressions of support for the … More

Arab Music Festival controversy widens ahead of 34th edition

A growing controversy surrounding the 34th Arab Music Festival and Conference has raised questions about budgets, artists’ fees, artistic decision-making … More

Harmony Araby Choir: When hundreds of voices become one

From the ancient stones of Jordan’s Jerash to the open-air stages of Oman’s Salalah and back to the Red Sea … More

Tarek Said (1966-2026): Independent by choice

Four months after the sudden passing of Egyptian theatre director Tarek Said, the 19th National Theatre Festival (25 July-11 August) … More

Egyptian and Arab artists relish in Egypt’s historic World Cup breakthrough

Egypt’s dramatic victory over Australia to book a place in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 ignited celebrations across … More

Sherine Abdel Wahab’s return to Egypt’s stage marks bid to reclaim her artistic narrative

After more than a year away from Egypt’s concert stage, Egyptian superstar Sherine Abdel Wahab is preparing for a high-profile … More

The Opera’s next act: Tracing leadership changes at the Cairo Opera House

Last week, Egyptian bass singer Reda El-Wakil was appointed chairman of the Cairo Opera House, joining the succession of distinguished … More

Eternal magic of Swan Lake returns to Cairo Opera House

Swan Lake returns to the Cairo Opera House, as the Cairo Opera Ballet Company revives Tchaikovsky’s timeless tale of love … More

Dreaming of the Nile

It has been some time since I last followed the Cairo Opera Ballet Company, yet many of its iconic works … More

2025 Yearender: A tale of two stages in Egypt’s diverging live music scene

The year 2025 highlighted a growing divide in Egypt’s music ecosystem, as major festivals and star-led events continued to gain … More

Khaled Saleh: A music of possibilities

Over the past two decades, the name Khaled Saleh has repeatedly appeared in various publications—in recent years often in connection … More

Cairo Opera House celebrates legacy of ballet master Abdel Moneim-Kamel

On 19 and 20 June, the Cairo Opera House staged two gala evenings in tribute to the late Abdel-Moneim Kamel … More

How to Spend 2 Days in Alexandria – A Local’s Itinerary

Sitting along the Mediterranean coast in the north of Egypt, Alexandria is a an interesting and ancient city that far … More

How to Spend 3 Days in Cairo – A Local’s Itinerary

Cairo, and Egypt more broadly, is somewhere that immediately evokes images of ancient civilizations and a sense of adventure and … More

Cairo Opera Ballet debuts Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty in Egypt

The Cairo Opera Ballet Company will give its first performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece The Sleeping Beauty on 9 … More

Slim pickings for Africa at this year’s Cannes Film Festival

This year’s 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is fast approaching, running from 14-25 May. The Africa Report takes … More

Egypt: All set for 13th edition of Luxor African Film Festival

The 13th edition of the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) which showcases African creativity, will take place from 9-15 February … More

Playboy in Alexandria: On Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Opera Don Giovanni was staged at the main hall of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina for three evenings between 18 and 20 … More

Egyptian soprano Neveen Allouba to be awarded France’s Order of Arts and Letters

Well-known Egyptian soprano Neveen Allouba will be awarded France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in the grade of Chevalier … More

Faragello the Stubborn: A lifetime devoted to para sports

“Sport changed my life; it altered my way of thinking and gave me purpose. It taught me discipline. Sport allowed … More

How Egypt’s ‘Zoom Africa’ seeks to undo longstanding stereotypes

Old flames: Egyptian ensemble Zaii Zaman returns with a concert at Tahrir Cultural Centre

Following a few years hiatus, Zaii Zaman returned with a unique Ramadan concert staged at the Tahrir Cultural Centre’s garden … More

Back to the future: Musical Wala Fi El-Ahlam reopens Cairo’s Kasr El-Nil Theatre

Premiering in February 2023, the musical theatre production Wala Fi El-Ahlam by the Egyptian Musical Theatre troupe has continued to … More

Nader Abbassi: A maestro with many hats

Just days prior to conducting the United Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert featuring soprano Fatma Said at the new Grand … More

‘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 … More

Basem Darwisch: Finding oneself

When speaking of cultural fusion, composer, oud player, and music manager Basem Darwisch is among the first names that comes … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

A musical koshari

Have performers from different nationalities cook traditional Egyptian songs, but spice it all up with an Egyptian darbouka and an … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

‘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 … More

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, … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

‘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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

‘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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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, … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

‘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 … More

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 … More