Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 – 1908)
Scheherazade - Symphonic Poem, Opus 35 

INTERMISSION

Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937)
L’heure espagnole - Musical comedy in one act with a libretto by Franc-Nohain
First performed on 19 May 1911 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris

Originally from the French Basque region, Maurice Ravel had a lifelong penchant for Spanish folk music. Alongside the "Bolero" and the "Rhapsodie espagnole", his short opera L'Heure espagnole, premiered in 1911, is the best-known example of Ravel's sophisticated stylisation of Spanish dance rhythms - and like the "Bolero", the almost hour-long stage work about the sexually unfulfilled watchmaker's wife Concepciòn is a masterpiece of the laconic elegance typical of Ravel. 

In the role of Concepción, the young French mezzo-soprano Isabelle Druet makes her debut at the opera house, performing a role that she has already sung at the Auditorium of the National Orchestra of Lyon, at the Salle Pleyel and at the Barbican Centre. The young French conductor Maxime Pascal conducting the one-act opera, which is paired with Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite "Scheherazade".