The Audience Chose the Ending at the UAE Philharmonic’s Rhapsody of Fate

Most orchestral evenings ask you to sit back and listen. On 7 November in Dubai, the UAE Philharmonic Orchestra asked its audience to decide what happened next.

Rhapsody of Fate mixed live orchestral music with a little theatre and a lot of suspense. At its centre was the Choose the Fate moment, when concertgoers voted on how the performance would unfold. The room chose the Red Cube, and the orchestra followed. The night closed with an encore of Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

“One of the most exciting things about live music is that no two performances are ever quite the same, and with Rhapsody of Fate we wanted to take that idea a step further,” said Nicolas Mann, Chief Conductor of the UAE Philharmonic Orchestra. He hopes formats like this will bring people who have never been to an orchestral concert through the door.

We love the idea. It is a playful, welcoming way into classical music, and a reminder of how quickly the UAE’s cultural scene is finding new ways to reach audiences. We will be watching for the orchestra’s next date.