Opera House to Launch Exceptional Edition of Arabic Music Festival

Under the patronage of Dr. Enas Abdel-Dayem, Minister of Culture, the Egyptian Opera House, headed by Dr. Magdy Saber, will organize the activities of the 29th Edition of the Arabic Music Festival and Conference, managed by the artist Jihan Morsi.

This exceptional edition, of the Arabic Music Festival, is committed to applying all the precautionary measures to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

It will continue for 10 consecutive days from 1 to 10 November on the different theaters of the opera House in Cairo : Fountain Theater, the small theater , Al Gomhuria, The Arabic Music Institute, in addition to Alexandria and Damanhour Opera Theater.

The activities of this edition include presenting: 28 music concerts with the participation of 93 artists from 5 Arab countries, namely: Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Tunisia.

In addition, a scientific conference will be held under the title "The Future of Arab Music .. Beyond the Crisis" to discuss the future visions of Arab music after the Corona pandemic and its radical change in all the aspects of life by dealing with four axes: future visions of Arab musical creativity, the future visions of the Arabic music performances, the future prospects of teaching Arabic music, the future visions of the problems of the Arabic musical heritage.

Furthermore, this edition will organize an artistic competition named “Dr. Ratiba El-Hefny completion “ , including: singing section for youth and children, “solo playing” section for cello instrument for those with special abilities - to participate without conditions.

In addition, the edition will organize an exhibition of the arts of Arabic calligraphy by the artist Mustafa Omar to be held in Salah Taher Hall.

During the opening ceremony, the Minister of Culture, will honor 12 personalities who contributed to the enrichment of the artistic life in Egypt and the Arab world by dedicating them the festival Oscar shield and the certificates of appreciation.

The figures include: the poet Bakhit Bayoumi, the flute player Dr. Muhammad Abd al-Nabi, the violinist Dr. Mahmoud Othman, the composer and the Chord player Yahya Mahdi, the singer Maher Al-Attar, the name of the late musician Ammar Al-Sharie, the members of “ Al – Asdikaa Ensemble”: the singer Mona Abdel-Ghani, the singer Alaa Abdel Khaleq, the singer Hanan , Dr. Magda Abdel Sami, the violinist Dr. Mohamed Qotb, the Arabic calligraphy artist Mostafa Omr.

Moreover, the opening ceremony, will include presenting a collection of the artistic musical concerts for the musicians: Jamal Salama, Helmy Bakr, Muhammad Sultan led by Maestro Salim Sahab , with the participation of artists: Nadia Mustafa, Ahmed Ibrahim, Sarah Sahab, Iman Abdel Ghani, Ahmed Effat, Amira Ahmed, Mai Hassan , Yasser Suleiman, Ayat Farouk, Ghada Adam, Soma.

It is worth noting that the 29th Edition of the Arabic Music Festival and Conference will include presenting 28 concerts, animated by 93 artists- 82 of them are singers.

The concerts will be performed sequentially by the following singers : Nadia Mustafa, Sarah Sahab, Ahmed Ibrahim, Soma, Iman Abdelghani, Ahmed Effat, Amira Ahmed, Mai Hassan, Yasser Suleiman ,Ayat Farouk, Ghada Adam, Medhat Saleh, Ahmed Mohsen, Mohi Salah, Noha Hafez, Atef Abdel Hamid, Hanan Al-Khouly, Angham Mustafa, Mazen Adel, Ahmed Al-Waziri, Ajfan, Rehab Omar, Mohammad Hassan, Walid Haider, Ali Al-Helbawy, Ali Al-Hajjar, Radwa Saeed, Reem Hamdy, Amjad Al-Atafy, Carmen Suleiman, May Farouk, Marwa Nagy, Assi El-Hallani, Hany Shaker, Ahmed Nafeh, Ibrahim Farouk, Nihad Fathy, Ahmed Saeed, Sabreen Al-Nujili, Hossam Hosni, Mohamed Al-Helou, Marwa Hamdy, Muhammad Al-Khouly, Yasser Saeed, Mustafa Saad, Amir Al-Rifai, Walaa Talabah, Ahmed Saad, Khaled Selim, Farah Al-Mogi, Reham Abdel Hakim, Mohammad Shawqi, Sameh Munir, Ahmed Essam, Amira Saeed, Hasna, Rehab Mutawa, Ayman Mustafa, Muhammad Metwally ,Wael Abul-Fotouh, Shorouk Sharif, Al-Sayed Wahballah, Ashraf Walid, Nihal Nabil, Mohammad Al-Sharnoubi, Hanan Madi, Essam Mahmoud, Humam ibraheem –Iraq-, Wael Jassar –Lebanon, Nada Ghaleb, Aya Abdullah, Saad Ramadan -Lebanon, Saber Al Rabaei -Tunisia, Mustafa Najdi, Hanan Essam, Ahmed Sabry, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Afaf Reda, Sarah Zaki, Saeed Othman, Yahya Abdel Halim, Ismail Sadiq. In addition to 11 musicians namely: pianist Amr Selim, oud player Bassem Darwish, accordionist Wael al-Najjar, violinist Jihad Akl –Lebanon, guitarist Waheed Mamdouh -Jordan, oud player Walid Salama, pianist Hamada al-Najjar, cello player Imad Ashour, Oud player Mamdouh Al-Jebali, violinist Mohammad Dhaheir, Qanun player Afaf Shukry.

Furthermore, the concerts will include the participation of 7 orchestras, namely: “The Arabic Heritage Music Ensemble” led by Maestro Farouk Al-Babli, “Cairo Steps Ensemble “led by musician and oud player Basem Darwish, “Cairo Opera Orchestra” led by Maestro Nair Nagy, “ The Voice of Egypt Orchestra” led by Maestro Ahmed Atef, “El Hefny Ensemble “ led by Maestro Hisham Nabawy, “Alexandria Opera Ensemble for Arabic Music and Singing” led by Maestro Abdel Hamid Abdel Ghaffar, “ the Arabic National Music Ensemble” led by Maestro Hazem Al Qasabji.

In addition, 23 musicians will participate led by Maestro Salim Sahab, Maestro Ahmed Amer, Maestro Salah Ghobashi, Maestro Alaa Abdel Salam, Maestro Ihab Abdel Ghaffar, Maestro Farouk El-Bably, Maestro Mostafa Helmy, Maestro Adel Ayesh and Maestro Hany Farhat.