La Caravane du Caire became the greatest success of it's composer, Andre Gretry, as soon as it premiered in 1783. This flamboyant opera-ballet takes us to a fantasised Orient, where colourful characters meet: an ambitious slave trader, an idle Pasha and distraught lovers experience a thousand adventures, in a sumptuous setting, to the sound of Gretry's superb instrumentation. In a whirlwind of precious fabrics, the Ballet de l'Opera Royal accompanies Herve Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel in a brilliant rendition of this late 18th-century masterpiece.