David et Jonathas
A tragédie en musique in five acts by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Sunday, June 21, 2026 | Gannon Concert Hall, DePaul University, Chicago
Benjamin West (1738–1820), Saul and the Witch of Endor, late 18th century. Oil on canvas, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Saul’s insane jealousy tests the loving bond between David and Jonathan, ending on the battlefield with suicide and heartbreak. Haymarket returns to French Baroque opulence with the Chicago premiere of Charpentier’s tragic David et Jonathas.
David et Jonathas
Music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Libretto by Father François Bretonneau
Sunday, June 21, 2026, at 2pm
Performance length: 2.5 hours, including one 20-minute intermission.
This performance is sung in the original French, with projected English titles.
Pre-concert talk
1:15pm pre-concert talk.
Free for all ticket holders.
Gannon Concert Hall
Holtschneider Performance Center at DePaul University
2330 N. Halsted Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
Ticket information
Purchase tickets through the DePaul School of Music box office
Tickets can be purchased online, in person, or by phone through the DePaul University School of Music box office. For assistance, please contact the box office by email (musicboxoffice@depaul.edu) or by phone (773-325-5200). The box office is open Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–3pm.
Early-bird ticket pricing
Purchase tickets now to take advantage of early-bird prices for this performance. Due to limited seating and high demand at the Gannon Concert Hall, this special pricing will end one month prior to the performance.
Event parking
Lincoln Common Garage: 2316 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, Il 60614
Validation stickers for discounted parking are available at the DePaul University School of Music box office 90 minutes prior to the event start and through the end of the event.
About the performance
Hear the Chicago premiere of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s 1688 tragic masterpiece David et Jonathas with early-music specialist Jory Vinikour conducting the acclaimed Haymarket Opera Orchestra and a star-studded cast. Sumptuous French music and high-baroque drama propel the story of the deep friendship between David and Jonathan that sets them against the jealousy of King Saul. Listen to the heartrending bond of friendship and devotion as these Old Testament heroes confront sacrifice, loyalty, and the tragic consequences of their fateful devotion, through the music of one of France’s most expressive and theatrical composers.
Following the company’s groundbreaking U.S. premiere of Marin Marais's Ariane et Bacchus, Haymarket is thrilled to return to French baroque music, presenting a semi-staged concert performance of this tragédie en musique for Chicago audiences.
Jory Vinikour, Conductor and haprsichordist
Grammy®-nominated artist Jory Vinikour returns from France to conduct Haymarket’s orchestra of 17th-century period instruments. Vinikour is widely recognized as one of the outstanding harpsichordists of his generation. A longtime Haymarket collaborator, Vinikour performs in the world’s most important opera houses, concert halls, and festivals as a celebrated recitalist, soloist, and conductor.
Scott J. Brunscheen brings his “sweet lyric tenor” (Chicago Tribune) to the role of the unstoppable warrior David, devoted friend of the young Jonathan, sung by soprano Kaitlin Foley. Praised for his “thrilling bass” (Chicago Stage Style), David Govertsen sings the role of Saul, Jonathan’s father, whose jealousy of David’s prowess sets the story on a tragic trajectory. An ensemble of soloists portrays the warriors, captives, shepherds, and Philistines who are caught in the fray of battle between Saul and David. The cast features Geoffrey Agpalo, Justin Berkowitz, Evan Bravos, Nathalie Colas, Hannah De Priest, Patrick Kilbride, Kimberly McCord, Leo Radosavljevic, and Michael St. Peter. Haymarket General Director Chase Hopkins provides direction for this semi-staged concert presentation.
Gaspar de Crayer (1584–1669), De heks van Endor roept Samuëls geest op voor Saul, c. 1619. Oil on canvas, Groeningemuseum, Brugge.
The Cast
David: Scott J. Brunscheen, tenor
Jonathas: Kaitlin Foley, soprano
Saül: David Govertsen, bass
Un berger, un captif, ensemble: Hannah De Priest, soprano
Un captif, ensemble: Kimberly McCord, soprano
Un captif, ensemble: Nathalie Colas, soprano
Une Pythonisse, ensemble: Justin Berkowitz, tenor
Joabel, ensemble: Patrick Kilbride, tenor
Un du peuple, ensemble: Michael St. Peter, tenor
Ensemble: Geoffrey Agpalo, tenor
L'ombre de Samüel, Achis, ensemble: Leo Radosavljevic, bass
Un guerrier, ensemble: Evan Bravos, bass
The Orchestra
Conductor & harpsichord: Jory Vinikour
Violin I (dessus): Jeri-Lou Zike, Martin Davids
Viola I (Haute contre): Elizabeth Hagen, Kiyoe Matsuura
Viola II (Taille): Bruno Vaz da Silva, Wendy Benner
Viola da gamba: Craig Trompeter
Bass violin: Anna Steinhoff, Ana Kim
Oboe & recorder: Kathryn Montoya, Stephen Bard
Theorbo: Dušan Balarin
Performance Support
Semi-staging Director: Chase Hopkins
Assistant Director: TBD
Stage Manager: Adrienne Bader
French Diction Coach: Nathalie Colas
Pre-performance Lecturer: TBD
Program note: Jesse Rosenberg
Surtitle Translator: Craig Trompeter
Projected Titles Operator: TBD
Ushering support provided by The Saints: Volunteers for the Performing Arts
Synopsis
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669), David en Jonathan, 1642. Oil on oak‑panel, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.
David et Jonathas tells the biblical story of the deep friendship between David, the future king of Israel, and Jonathan, the son of King Saul. Tragedy ensues when Saul becomes increasingly jealous of David's youthful success and popularity. The opera explores themes of loyalty, love, and sacrifice. The emotional heart of the work is the bond between David and Jonathan. Despite his loyalty to his father, Jonathan ultimately sides with David, and the opera ends tragically when he dies in battle.
About the composer
Musical life at the court of Louis XIV was tightly controlled beginning in 1661 by the king’s Superintendent of Music and Master of Music, composer Jean-Baptiste Lully who held an extraordinary monopoly throughout France over opera production and stage works with music through his Académie Royale de Musique. Lully's exclusive privilege narrowly restricted professional opportunities for other composers. Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s (1643-1704) theatrical ambitions were thwarted to some extent, but his career flourished nevertheless in private and ecclesiastical contexts, where his distinctive style developed freely outside the boundaries of Lully’s royal monopoly. He gained the steadfast support of the highly influential Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise, and lived in her palace as music master to her household for nearly 20 years. Charpentier’s music blends Italianate expressivity with French elegance, skillfully infusing lyricism into the high drama of the tragédie en musique. His legacy of superbly crafted works in many genres includes two of the 17th century’s most original operas, Médée and David et Jonathas.
About the librettist
Father François Bretonneau (1660–1741), a Jesuit scholar and educator, crafted the libretto for David et Jonathas for performance at Paris’s Collège Louis-le-Grand in 1688. His text draws from the First Book of Samuel, shaping the religious story with moral clarity to enhance dramatic tension and provide Charpentier with an intricately textured canvas for music.
Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (c. 1470–1533), Saul bij de heks van Endor, 1526. Oil on oak panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
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