Exterior night shot of the Cairo Opera House (Dar Al-Opera Al-Masreya) on Gezira Island, Cairo, with its distinctive dome lit in red against a deep blue night sky and warm floodlights illuminating the limestone-clad modernist facade. The Cairo Opera House is Egypt's premier performing arts venue, inaugurated in 1988 on the grounds of Gezira Island, replacing the original Khedivial Opera House that burned down in 1971. The building was designed by a Japanese architectural team and blends modern design with Islamic architectural influences.