Sheherazade

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s best-known orchestral work based on the tales of the Arabian Nights was utilised by Michel Fokine as the starting point of his famous choreography for the Ballets Russes. Vaslav Nijinsky danced the role of the Golden Slave, the secret lover with whom Scheherazade deceives the Sultan. The ballet dispenses with many of the episodic tales in the Arabian Nights, concentrating instead on the triangular relationship between the Sultan, Scheherazade and the Golden Slave. This also explains why Fokine omitted the third concert piece of the suite.

The music conjures a fairy tale atmosphere coloured with the vivid hues of exotic Arabia and was used by Fokine in combination with one of the most opulent and erotic choreographies of his time. The ballet is frequently combined with a second piece for a full-length ballet evening as seen in Würzburg in 2016 coupled with Fazıl Say’s violin concerto ‘1001 Nacht im Harem’ [1001 Nights in a Harem].