L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

Kent Nagano is the leading interpreter of the music of Olivier Messiaen. It is almost a family relationship that binds the creator of the famous Turangalîla Symphony and of the Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jesus with the music director of the OSM. This relationship goes back to the world premiere of Messiaen’s monumental opera Saint François d'Assise, being presented at these performances for the first time in Canada. Nagano was chosen by Messiaen as assistant to conductor Seiji Ozawa for the opera’s premiere in Paris in 1983. Now Mr. Nagano and the OSM take audiences into the very heart of the worldwide celebrations surrounding the centenary (2008) of Messiaen’s birth. Major musical institutions of Europe, Asia and America will be taking part in this event. Montreal too will play a role in the celebration as it resounds with a rare production of this five-hour operatic milestone.

Saint François d'Assise is accessible to audiences, but is of formidable complexity for the performers. It is Messiaen’s musical testament, the synthesis of a life devoted to research into the deployment of rhythms and sound-colors as an expression of his Catholic faith and mysticism.