David et Jonathas

During his lifetime Jean-Baptiste Lully, the sun-king of opera, did not budge and no-one got any chance. One year after his death Antoine Charpentier presents a stroke of genius called »David et Jonathas«, which is first performed at the Jesuit college Louis le Grand and he thus finally and triumphantly steps out of Lully’s shadow. This spectacular new production from Versailles presents Charpentier’s heroes in costumes designed by fashion legend Christian Lacroix.

When King Saul receives the prophecy that he and his son Jonathan will be killed in Battle and David will become the new King, he almost goes mad. Israelites and Philistines are at war – the two loving friends David and Jonathan struggle for peace – however, raging King Saul engulfs his son in the abyss… Charpentier turns a powerful textual source into gripping musical theatre packed with emotions, psychological tensions  seamlessly moving from intensive close-ups to grand perspectives as he turns the choir and the dancers into vital participants. Inspired by the spirit of his era, a French-Canadian dream team unlocks Charpentier’s world and conjures up the masterpiece in a stage production that is as imaginative as it is stylish: a baroque dream.

Performance in French with German surtitles

Length about 2 hours 40 mins including one interval

A coproduction of the Music Festival Potsdam Sanssouci with Opéra Royal / Château de Versailles Spectacles.