Ordinary Egyptians

Power and music in Cairo: Azbakiyya

“…Patriotic Egyptian individuals, in reaction to the khedivial urban pleasures and buildings, searching for an appropriate cultural expression, turned to the popular Egyptian traditions, be they street entertainments, folk songs or the Arab art music so characteristic of mid-nineteenth-century Azbakiyya. 134 Such attempts to reclaim Azbakiyya via familiar entertainment for ordinary people can be traced back to the theatre of an Egyptian Jew, James Sanua, established in around spring 1871. During this year, his 'operettas', staged in colloquial Egyptian Arabic and using popular tunes, brought Egyptians to the Azbakiyya Garden Theatre ( Figure 6) and conferred upon him the blessing of the khedive.…”

“…This mixing between Arab and Italian/French music resulted in hybrid musical art forms that became the basis for twentieth-century entertainment, such as al-Rihani's or Sayyid Darwish's song-theatres. 138…”

Arabic Theater in Early Khedivial Culture, 1868–72: James Sanua Revisited

“…Ziad Fahmy divides the Egyptian cultural landscape into popular and elite cultures in order to unearth the use of Arabic vernacular(s) in the formation of national identity. 20 In addition to this sociolinguistic approach, it is fruitful to experiment with the distinction between official or state and nonofficial culture in general, because in this way the political framework in which both "elite" and "popular" were constructed becomes more evident. Since these categories are often associated with value judgments, it is important to understand them as historically evolving and context dependent.…”