Charpentier, in his time and by today's standards, seems to be in the shadow of other composers of the time.
It is a shame, because, while his operas and such may not be as ground-breaking as those of Rameau and Lully, Rameau having revolutionised French opera and Lully revolutionised opera in general, his music- having heard 'Medee', having seen this production of 'David Et Jonathas' and performed the role of Daphne in 'Acteon'- is very much listenable and often beautiful.
This Provence production of 'David Et Jonathas' serves as not just an excellent introduction to this rare and under-appreciated biblical opera but also as an excellent production in general. It is sad that it is cheapened somewhat by too distractingly busy video-directing, with too many zooms in and zoom outs as well as that cheesy and completely unnecessary slow motion and all over the place jumpy editing. And the clumsy special effects do belong better in a low-budget science fiction film and add little.
On a visual level, the minimalist sets and atmospheric lighting however provide an effective sense of claustrophobia and are a long way from ugly. They also suit the concept and setting very well, if perhaps occasionally not matching the music. Even with the updated setting and time period, this is still the sort of production that manages to make a story from an early music/baroque opera interesting, something that can be potentially problematic if the story itself isn't strong enough, taking on a psychological character study approach that makes the characters relatable and the storytelling quite poignant.
At the same time, there is nothing that comes over as irrelevant or distasteful, even the re-interpretation of the prologue into a sort of intermediary scene came over as a bold and quite dramatically effective directing choice, a "concept" production that still respects the opera and Charpentier. The consultation of the Witch of Endor by Saul is suitably disturbing and the final scene is very poignant.
Musically, it is where the production particularly excels. The orchestra as ever show a real sense of understanding the period style and play with a lot of energy and refinement. William Christie's conducting is sympathetic but also alert at the same time. The performances are uniformly good, some will find (have done too) something that's problematic in Pascal Charbonneau's performance as David. He does at times sound strained in some of the more emotionally charged scenes, but much of the voice is richly expressive and powerful while giving away to nuance. He is a compelling presence on stage as well and is highly emotive.
Ana Quintans is a very moving and radiantly sung Jonathas, coming over credibly as a young man. Neal Davies' Saul is forceful and sympathetically passionate, convincing in his intense paranoia and affecting grief, with a nice resonance to his voice. Dominique Visse sings hauntingly as La Pythonisse.
Overall, excellent production of a rare and under-appreciated opera. Shame that the video directing doesn't do it justice. 8/10 Bethany Cox
