Minister of Culture & Chairman of the Opera House to Honoring 11 Figures at 32nd Session of Citadel Festival for Music and Singing*  

12 August 2024

Nesma Abdel Aziz Marimba & Carmen Soliman at the Opening Ceremony of Citadel Festival

The Cairo Opera House, under the supervision of Dr. Lamiaa Zayed, to launch the 32nd Session of the Citadel Festival for Music and Singing at Mahka Theatre on Thursday, 15 August 2024.
This annual festival is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and in collaboration with the Egyptian Tourism Authority.
During the opening ceremony, Dr. Ahmed Hano and Dr. Lamiaa Zayed will honor eleven cultural and intellectual figures who influenced and enriched the cultural and artistic scene in Egypt and the Arab world: Mr. Amr El Kady, (Chairman of the Tourism Promotion Authority), Youssef El Qaeed (writer and member of the Board of Trustees of Damanhour Opera House), Dr. Magdy Saber (Former Chairman of the Cairo Opera House), Fathy Salama (musician),  Maestro Hazem El Kasabgy (conductor of the National Arab Music Ensemble), Yasser El Serafi,(concertmaster of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra), Nesma Abdel Aziz (marimbist), Mahmoud Haggag, (former Head Manager of the Technical Administration at the Cairo Opera House), Abeer Mohamed Omar (General Director of Artistic Coordination and Programs Administration at the Cairo Opera House), the late Mohamed Salem (former Director of the Artistic Activities Administration at the Cairo Opera House), and the late Salah Saleh (team member of the Cairo Opera House workshops).
Following the honoring ceremony, a concert featuring Nesma Abdel Aziz and Carmen Soliman is held.
The 32nd Session of the Citadel Festival for Music and Singing will run for 14 days from Thursday, 15 August to Wednesday, 28 August 2024 at Mahka Theatre featuring:  Nesma Abdel Aziz, Carmen Soliman, Arab Music Ensemble in collaboration with the Children and Youth Choir of the Talents Development Center, Arab music night titled “In Love with the Warda”, Black Theama, Loay, Amr Selim, Hamza Namira, Glass Onion, Sandip Banerjee band from India, Hisham Abbas, “Sufism and Modernity” by Fathi Salama & Sheikh Mahmoud Al Tuhami, Dina El Wedidi, Nadia Mostafa, Ali El-Haggar, a Sufi Night with stars of the Religious Song Ensemble, Ihab Tawfik, Iman Abdel Ghani, Hany Shaker, Cairo Symphony Orchestra “Hollywood Film Music” conducted by Maestro Ahmed Atef, Nesma Mahgoub, Samar Tarek, Mostafa Hagag, Mawawil Ensemble, Religious Chanter Sheikh Yassin Al Tuhami, Saad Eloud, Medhat Saleh, Talents Development Center Orchestra conducted by Raggy El Mokaddem, and Omar Khairat accompanied by the Cairo Opera Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Nayer Nagui.