(Photo Courtesy of the Cairo Opera House)
By Nourhan Dakroury
Cairo Opera House artists and management will strike in defiance of the removal of the Opera House head. They made the announcement on Wednesday, saying they will stop work until Saturday.
They also said they refuse to let go of the current management under Abdel Dayem since the removal decision was issued without “plausible or legal” reasons.
Head of the Opera House Enas Abdel Dayem was removed from her post at the opera house on Tuesday, which sparked the discontent of a large swath of Egypt’s cultural scene.
The statement described her removal as part of an organised plan to destroy Egyptian culture and fine arts.
According to the Cairo Opera House page, the opera piece Aida was cancelled Tuesday night and artists protested in the main hall, calling for the removal of the minister of culture, who is responsible for the sacking.
Maestro Nayer Nagui said that artists of the opera house will strike “until this demand is met”, and described the minister as “working under the current regime to erase Egyptian cultural identity through the removal of successful officials in the Ministry of Culture and other cultural institutions.”
Famous composer and pianist Omar Khairat also cancelled his upcoming concerts at the opera house in June, supporting the artists’ movement to strike against the current minister.
The National Conference for the Egyptian Theatre on Wednesday declared its support for the artists’ movement, which was called for by members of the applied arts community in collaboration with the Press, Musicians’ and Actors’ syndicates.
This is the second protest by artists, following the one on 14 May demanding the removal of the minister of culture on the grounds that he is not qualified for the post.
