“Scheherazade” by Rimsky-Korsakov

A bedtime story every night, for one thousand and one nights… This is young Scheherazade’s plan to save her own life and the lives of many other girls in her kingdom: she will marry the evil Sultan Shahryar and tell him a story every evening but not reveal the ending until the next night. Her beautiful voice and thrilling stories bewitch the sultan, gradually softening his heart.

This is the plot of the tale taken from One Thousand and One Nights and the Eastern oral tradition. Rimsky-Korsakov composed captivated melodies with exquisite orchestration for these stories, evoking images of seas and shipwrecks, princes and festivities, to accompany this illustrated concert.

N. Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade Op.35

Cast:

Texts and Narration:

· Ana Hernández-Sanchiz

Pianists:

· Karla Martínez Rabanal

· Enrique Lapaz Lombardo

Illustrations and Animation:

· Patti Martínez

Commissioned by the Educational Service of the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra (Feb. 2025)