Pioneer of Musical Drama:
Salama Hegazi is an artist of melodious voice, an innovative musical composer whose unprecedented musical achievement qualifies him to be termed as the pioneer of musical drama. Born in Alexandria in 1852, he was brought up as an orphan. He lost his father at the age of three and his widowed mother got married. He was harshly treated by his stepfather. The little orphan went to pre-school in the morning and in the afternoon to a barber's shop, where he worked as an apprentice. Born with a sweat voice, Salama's early talent was manifested at Kuttab (an Islamic pre-school where children were made to learn Qur'an by heart).

At the Kuttab, the child surpassed his teacher in reciting Quran. Later, Salama worked as a muazzen (one who calls out for prayer at mosques) at Sidi al-Abasi Mosque, Alexandria. He took lessons at the hands of many sheikhs such as Kamel al-Hariri, Salama al-Ras and Ahmed al-Yasserji, who guided him to the proper artistic direction. Gradually he turned from chanting religious hymns in praise of Prophet Mohammad to other kinds of songs, to the accompaniment of the oriental conventions, a "Takht", he formed himself. His melodious, sweet voice and contacts with major artists of his time, in addition to his personal suffering as an orphan contributed to his success. At that time, singing was an important element of artistic life, and being a superb vocalist, gave him an extra leverage in the art.

Salama Hegazi and Musical theatre:
During the time of Hegazi, there were many dramatic troupes. At the beginning he presented interact vocal intervals. Working with dramatic troupes, he developed a love for theatre and soon was involved in making songs for the theatre. He was the first Arab composer who liberated Arabic music from the restrictions of oriental band.

He turned to acting with Kirdahi and al-Haddad troupe during 1885-1889. Through his contributions, many musical theatre troupes rose such as Aziz Eed, Naguib al-Rihani and Ali al-Kassar troupes. Salama Hegazi was one of the first artists who traveled abroad, where he was widely acclaimed and recognized for his musical and theatrical works. He was warmly welcomed in Syria, Tunisia and Italy where he was granted awards of appreciation by some of these governments. There is a statue of Hegazi at the Museum of Napoli.

In 1915, Salama Hegazi was paralysed and died two years later, leaving behind a rich legacy of musical achievements.