Sultan Shahryar was of the opinion that all women were unfaithful and he had therefore decided that all his wives had to be killed after the first night. However, his wife Scheherazade succeeded in avoiding this fate by telling him a different story every night for a thousand and one nights.’ It was with these words that Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov introduced the score of his Sheherazade, a symphonic suite with solo violin, in which he set to music one of the great masterpieces of world literature, the Thousand and One Nights. His version is full of oriental splendour and sensuality and brimful of orchestral brilliance and enchantment. Together with the La Monnaie Orchestra and with its leader, Saténik Khourdoian, as soloist, our Music Director, Alain Altinoglu, will initiate us into the mysteries of this magical musical world, with words and music. Alain Altinoglu is such a born storyteller that you will undoubtedly hang on his every word for a thousand and one concerts.
