Schubert / Cusson: Le Récital Des Anges – Ema Nikolovska

At night, a woman wanders through the streets of Montreal. Her thoughts turn to her sister, Lucille, to their childhood together, and to her death. Drawing on the poetry of Émile Nelligan, composer Ian Cusson traces, in Le Récital des anges, a contemplative journey into the intimate experience of loss and grief. Performed by soprano Elisabeth St Gelais, this new work forms the centerpiece of a nocturnal programme devoted to wandering, poised between dream and nightmare.

It is paired with Ian Cusson’s own orchestrations of Schubert’s lieder, performed by mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, including Erlkönig in Berlioz’s French adaptation. Under the direction of its founder and conductor Nicolas Ellis, the Orchestre de l’Agora thus reaffirms its Montreal roots, drawing on a city that has become a particularly vibrant hub for contemporary creation, while asserting its own distinctive artistic identity.