Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade (a symphonic suite)

"As far as stories go, it's hard to top Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov's Scheherazade. It's a treasure trove—a story about one of history's greatest storytellers and the tales she weaves.

The Sultan Forgives Scheherazade by Arthur Boyd Houghton (1836-1875).
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Scheherazade is the young bride of the Sultan. After one of his wives cheats on him, he decides to take a new wife every day and have her executed the next morning. But it all stops with Scheherazade. 

She marries the Sultan in order to save all future young women from this fate. She tells the Sultan fascinating stories, leaving him in such suspense each night that he can't execute her the next morning for fear of not hearing the end of the story. After 1,001 of these well-told tales, the Sultan relents."

Here's a link to the opera:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNymNaTr-Y

And here is a link to Rimsky Korsakov's life:
https://www.sfcv.org/learn/composer-gallery/rimsky-korsakov-nikolai

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai

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