Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov [1844 - 1908]
Scheherazade, Symphonic Poem, Opus 35

*** Interval ***

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. The celebrated mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa can be heard in the role of Concepción, with the young French conductor Maxime Pascal conducting the one-act opera, which is paired with Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite "Scheherazade".