When the Curtain Rises on the New Year at Cairo Opera House

As December settles over Cairo, the mood inside the Opera House shifts almost imperceptibly. Musicians arrive earlier, dancers linger longer in rehearsal rooms, and familiar melodies echo through corridors long before the curtains rise. By the time Christmas approaches, the building is already in motion, preparing for a season that returns every year yet never feels routine.

With the end of 2025 approaching, Cairo Opera House is once again marking the festive season with a programme that blends music, ballet, and tradition. The celebrations welcoming Christmas and the New Year 2026 bring back two of the Opera House’s most anticipated performances: the annual Christmas concert and The Nutcracker ballet.

According to Lara Walid, from the Administration of Artistic Performances at Cairo Opera House, the Christmas concert will feature singers from the Cairo Opera Company accompanied by the Cairo Opera Orchestra under the direction of principal conductor Mohamed Saad Basha. The programme includes internationally recognised Christmas carols such as Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and O Holy Night, alongside festive orchestral pieces that have become synonymous with the season.

The concert will not be limited to music alone. Walid explained that choreographed performances by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company, supervised by artistic director Erminia Kamel, will be woven into the evening, combining voice, orchestra, and movement in a single celebration. For audiences, the result is not just a concert, but a complete festive scene unfolding on stage.

Running alongside the concert programme, The Nutcracker returns to the Main Hall as part of the Opera House’s Christmas schedule. Walaa Shaker, Director of Shows and Events at Cairo Opera House, said the ballet will be performed from 26 to 30 December, led by Maestro Nader Abbassi and directed by Erminia Kamel. Reintroduced in 2024, the production has quickly reclaimed its place as a seasonal fixture.

Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Lev Ivanov, The Nutcracker is based on Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 adaptation of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Set on Christmas Eve and unfolding through a child’s imagination beneath a decorated tree, the ballet has long been associated with the festive period, drawing audiences of all ages.

Behind the scenes, the scale of preparation extends far beyond the stage. Nehal Ashraf, from the Artistic Shows Department at Cairo Opera House explained that performances across Cairo Opera House’s multiple theatres, including the Main Hall, Small Hall, Republic Theatre, and Open-Air Theatre, are planned as part of an annual programme established before the season begins. Similar coordination takes place at Opera House venues in Alexandria and Damanhour.

Each performance is supported by detailed promotional and informational material, from monthly schedules to printed brochures distributed on the night of the show. These materials introduce audiences to the works being presented, the artists involved, and the broader artistic context, reinforcing the Opera House’s role not only as a performance venue but as a cultural institution.

As the year draws to a close, the Opera House stands illuminated against the winter night, its halls filled with music, movement, and anticipation. For many in Cairo, attending a Christmas concert or watching The Nutcracker is not just entertainment, but a seasonal ritual, one that signals the end of the year and the beginning of another, carried on the sound of an orchestra tuning and the quiet rustle of the curtain rising.