The Cairo Opera House has marked the third anniversary of the 33 million-strong Egyptian Revolution on 30 June 2013 against the Muslim Brother President Muhammad Mursi who had risen to power in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring, and his overthrow together with his Islamist regime on 4 July.
President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi attended the celebration which was held at the Opera House’s Main Hall of Cairo under the theme ++Thawrat Shaab (A People’s Revolution)++. It was organised by Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and supervised by the Cairo Opera House head Ines Abdel-Dayem. Some 500 opera singers, musicians, dancers, and behind-the-scenes workers, took part in the show.
The event took off with the screening of the documentary named ++Lahazat Fareqa (Moments That Made All The Difference)++ produced by the Administration of Moral Affairs of the Armed Forces. It dealt with the story of the Muslim Brothers who hijacked the dreams of the Egyptian people in the wake of the Arab Spring uprising; however, Egyptians woke up and refused that they be in power. At that time the people demanded the help of their armed forces who in turn promptly responded.
The Cairo Opera Ballet performed ++Al-Thawra (The Revolution)++ choreographed by Erminia Kamel to music by Karim Abdel-Wahab.. It was followed by the musical named ++Thawrat Shaab (A People’s Revolution)++ directed by Khaled Galal. The background scenery was designed by Muhammad al-Gharabawi and depicted Pharaonic shapes on which was engraved the names of Egypt’s prominent enlightenment and literary characters as well as leading political figures in the 20th and 21st centuries. The costumes were perfectly designed to matches the scenes and express the moments of victory. The musical included songs and music sung by the Egyptian people at that time.
The orchestra was conducted by Ahmed Atef, the Acapella Choir by Maya Gevenira, and Choir of Kids’ Talents Improvement Centre by Nadia Abdel-Aziz and supervised by Abdel Wahab al-Sayed.
Pop star Medhat Saleh sang songs that had been sung by Egypt’s luminary singer of the 1950s to 1980s Abdel-Halim Hafez, and are widely popular to this day. Opera singers Nesma Mahgoub, Marwa Nagi, Maie Farouq and Riham Abdel-Hakim gave masterful performances. Between songs, theatre actor Ashraf Abdel-Ghaffour recited poems by Muhammad Baghdadi. The show closed with the national anthem.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave a speech in which he affirmed that the Egyptian people and the army have always been and will continue to be one; when the people needed the army it was there for them. He called upon the people to fight against terrorism. “Egyptians are the makers of a 7,000-year-old civilization,” he said, “and are able to walk in their forefathers’ footsteps. Long Live Egypt!”
WATANI International
7 July 2016