is a nonverbal work of music drama commissioned by Scenatet from the composer Jeppe Ernst and continues their ongoing  cooperation which also includes the work Interludium—performed at festivals such as SPOR, Passage, and CPH Stage.  

Both Interludium and Cantus are examples of their shared effort  to challenge preconceived ideas about what classical music and music drama are and can be. In an exploration of social dynamics and intersubjective relations, ten musicians staged as a choir  perform a nonverbal script consisting of eruptions of gestures,  touches, and strokes.  

As a kind of opera, Cantus investigates the unspeakable aspects of  the loneliness woven into human existence. How intimate, how  close can we be to another person, the piece seems to ask – while  we simultaneously feel radically separated and estranged from  one another. Cantus presents radical stylistic gestures that suggest  an entirely new approach to opera and performance. Essential  to both Scenatet and Ernst is the attempt to preserve the existential and emotional depth that has always lain at the core of  an art form such as opera, while daring to challenge its deeply  rooted stylistic conventions. Cantus is yet another example of this  endeavour.