CANCELLED: Saint François d'Assise

Famous French composer Olivier Messiaen described birds as »the greatest artists among all creatures«, and included birdsong in some of his works. That connects him with St Francis of Assisi, who, legend has it, preached to the birds and praised the Lord’s Creation. It was only logical, then, that Messiaen should dedicate to the founder of the Franciscan order his biggest and most all-embracing composition: the opera »Saint François d’Assise«. Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra perform it tonight at the Elbphilharmonie.