Scheherazade has always fascinated me. Her story is one of humanity’s greatest literary and historical treasures, although our collective imagination has always seen her either as a seductress or as a submissive woman who told stories to survive. The greatness of her character far surpasses this and in fact represents the ancient figure of the hero — or rather the heroine!

A hero is the term attributed to a human being who, basing their actions on moral and ethical principles, resolves critical situations by acting with exceptional courage and bravery. An attitude rooted in selfless thought and in logic was considered sacred by ancient peoples; heroes were seen as superior beings because they surpassed the normal human limits. The pinnacle of heroism is to put one’s own life at risk to save another’s.

Scheherazade represents an archetype of female heroism: a woman of great intelligence and high courage who voluntarily chooses to risk her life by presenting herself to marry the sultan. She knows that she might be killed the next day by her own father, but she accepts the risk in the hope of saving women and, in consequence, the future of her entire people. Her words create worlds — and her intelligence brings healing to the sultan and to his people.

It is her love for her people that first compels her to present herself to the sultan; her love for the sultan then leads her to cure him of his madness. Her heroic acts grant her the authority to rule in peace.

This project features not only Rimsky-Korsakov’s music but also original dialogues that tell Scheherazade’s story in free adaptations of texts from the Thousand and One Nights and from ancient love poems. She leads us to an ending that opens up a perspective of a free future for her sister Dinarzade and for generations of women and humanity yet to come.

Note: The tracks on this album page are from Scheherazade A Tale (Album 1)

Golshifteh Farahani – Narrator, Scheherazade (Album 1)
Kristin Winters – Narrator, Dinarzade (Album 1)

Ensemble K
Nicolas Dupont, Manon Galy – Violin
Clément Holvoet – Viola
Kacper Nowak – Cello
Adrien Tyberghein – Double Bass
Mara Dobresco – Piano
Raquele Magalhaes – Flute & Piccolo
Cyril Lefrançois – Oboe
Bruno Bonansea – Clarinet
Jérémy Bager – Bassoon
Gabriel Potier – Horn
Pierre Favennec – Trumpet
Benoit Coutris – Trombone
Christophe Drelich – Percussion

Simone Menezes, Music Director & Conductor