David et Jonathas – Edinburgh festival review

Charpentier's tragédie biblique was originally a kind of moral counterpart for an action-packed drama called Saul, now lost. The 1688 premiere at a Parisian Jesuit college alternated acts from the two: Saul provided the storyline, David et Jonathas the take-home message. That's why the opera alone is so low on narrative and high on soul-searching – and probably why it's hardly ever done.

This stylish production from Festival d'Aix-en-Provence makes the best possible case for its revival. Essentially an Old Testament tale of an Israelite and a Philistine who love each other from childhood but are forced apart due to race and power politics, director Andreas Homoki doesn't force modern-day parallels. Sleek, pine sets locate the action anywhere and anytime. The Israelites are dressed in Mediterranean garb, the Philistines in fez hats and headscarfs. There's a constant flux between the two, and they move tetchily apart for the closing tableau: David has been crowned king, but there's to be no lasting solution here. Nor does Homoki overegg the homosexual relationship at the opera's core. The chemistry between David and Jonathas is simply as tender as Charpentier's music suggests it should be.

Conductor William Christie brings the score dazzlingly to life, moving at a decent clip through buoyant, triple-time dances and aching laments. Les Arts Florissant's period instruments sound sumptuous, and the chorus sings with earthy warmth. The role of David is written so high that it might more easily be sung by an alto (as it was in Christie's recording). Pascal Charbonneau sounded initially strained but warmed up, and he looks and acts the part. Ana Quintans sings Jonathas with daring and pathos, Neal Davies is a sonorous Saul, and other roles taken by chorus members are small-voiced but artful.