Scheherazade

About

Mauro Bigonzetti, long-standing artistic director of the Aterballetto, Reggio Emilia, is a great modern dance innovator, one of the world’s most feted ballet creators and a sensitive storyteller. Blending contemporary and classical idiom, he reveals and depicts the beauty of the human body almost like a sculptor, yet his works are far from academic. Bigonzetti has previously worked with the Czech National Ballet on three occasions. In 2016, Prague staged to great acclaim his Vertigo; in 2019, the Estates Theatre hosted the world premiere of Kafka: The Trial; and in the 2023/24 season, the State Opera presented his choreography to Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden within the unique project Holo Harmonies.

Nikolai Rimsky­-Korsakov did not compose the symphonic suite Scheherazade with a view to having it set to dance. Fully bringing to bear his extraordinary sense for refined and ample orchestration, and inspired by his travels in Asia, he created a wonderful piece of music, teeming with lovely, wistful melodies and dramatic commotion. Rimsky­-Korsakov’s Scheherazade was first adapted as a ballet by Michel Fokine. The 1910 production, featuring Léon Bakst’s opulent scenery, was the sensation of the Ballets Russes season. Staged worldwide, it has become an integral part of global culture.

One of the first erotic choreographies, Fokine’s piece was also a celebration of physical beauty. An artist possessing immense imagination and flair, Mauro Bigonzetti will leave the audience spellbound with  theatre magic.

National Theatre Orchestra