Opera
Square
Teatro Square,
Opera Square, El-Ataba El Khadra, Ibrahim Pasha Square are all names of famous Opera
Square housing the Khedivial Opera House. Opera Square was built during the
Khedive Ismail era.
Opera
square, home to famous Khedivial Opera House
Khedive Ismail had
a dream of Egypt to be a piece of Europe or Europe of the East. So, he
imported the European civilization elements to Egypt,
especially its unique architectural style and cultural landmarks. Khedive Ismail
started to construct an Egyptian Opera House to be like the
famous Italian Opera House" La Scala" in 1869. So, he assigned an
Italian architect to supervise the construction works. The building was
designed by the two Italian architects Scala and Giovanni Salomon, and it took
six months to finish.
Khedive Ismail inaugurated the new
Opera House on 4 January 1869. It presented the famous "Rigoletto
Opera" performance in the presence of Europe's kings and queens on top of
Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III. On 14 December 1871, the new Opera House
presented the famous Egyptian Performance Opera Aida written by the French
Egyptologist Auguste Mariette and composed by the Italian musician Verdi.
Ibrahim
Pasha Statue
In the famous Opera Square,
you will come across the statue of Ibrahim Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt.
It is the work of the French sculptor Charles Henri Joseph Cordier.
