This spring, Opera Atelier celebrates twin milestones: 40 years of creating world-renowned productions, and 40 years of marriage between Co-Founders and Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. The company is marking this double anniversary with the momentous Canadian premiere of David and Jonathan, a French Baroque sacred opera or tragédie biblique, exploring themes of friendship, loyalty, jealousy, and divine fate through the lens of a biblical narrative, composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier in 1688.
Based on the biblical books of Samuel, David and Jonathan explores the devastating consequences of unchecked emotion. In them, King Saul experiences mounting jealousy toward the rising hero David. This strains the King’s bond with his son Jonathan, who is David’s closest friend. Despite their deep love for one another, David and Jonathan are forced into opposing armies. Saul and Jonathan both fall in battle, dying in David’s arms – and the devastated young warrior is crowned King of Israel.
From Versailles to Toronto
Opera Atelier’s staging brings the psychological intensity of this work into acute focus. “Our production of Charpentier’s David and Jonathan is the most profound creative experience of our lives,” asserts Pynkoski. “We feel that our obsession and dedication to French culture and repertoire has all been leading to this moment.”
Building on past triumphs such as Lully’s Persée and Armide and Charpentier’s Médée and Actéon, as well as a long-standing relationship with the Royal Opera House in Versailles, Opera Atelier has developed a production style that Pynkoski describes as “deceptively spare and simple”. And David and Jonathan perfectly suits that style. “When we first produced David and Jonathan for the Royal Chapel in Versailles in 2022,” Pynkoski recalls, “we were struck by the fact that the work was almost Shakespearean, in that the text and music tell us everything we need to know about location and the emotional development of the characters. Changes of location and costume are not necessary. Rather, the production’s design, like the staging and choreography, is meant to serve our goal of clear, coherent storytelling.”
The Toronto premiere, sung in French, features a cast of Opera Atelier audience favourites, including two of the principal soloists from the original Versailles production. French baritone David Witczak makes his North American debut as Saul, while tenor Antonin Rondepierre returns to Opera Atelier as the villain Joabel. They are joined by tenor Colin Ainsworth as David, soprano Mireille Asselin as Jonathan, mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel as the Pythonisse, baritone Christopher Dunham as Achis, and bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus as the Ghost of Samuel. An onstage ensemble of soloists will be accompanied by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir under the direction of Opera Atelier Music Director David Fallis.
Costumes will be designed by Michael Gianfrancesco and lighting by Kimberly Purtell. Designer Gerard Gauci will once again transform the performance space, bringing Koerner Hall’s contemporary stage into conversation with the architectural poetry of the Royal Chapel. Choosing Koerner Hall for the Canadian premiere was an intentional and inspired decision because it has “almost exactly the same footprint as the playing space we had in the Royal Chapel. And as a nonconventional venue, it seemed to be the ideal location to create a similar atmosphere to what we had in Versailles,” explains Pynkoski. Both the Royal Chapel and Koerner Hall possess superb acoustics, and both venues seat approximately 1000 audience members. “The Royal Chapel represents the quintessence of 17th century French design, just as Koerner Hall represents late 20th century Canadian design at its very best.” In the end, he notes, “there are more similarities than there are differences between these two marvelous venues”.
David and Jonathan… and Saul
For Pynkoski and Zingg, the decision to take on David and Jonathan was sparked by a longtime collaborator, Laurent Brunner, the director of Château de Versailles Spectacles. “We had of course heard Charpentier’s David and Jonathan, but had never considered it as something to be staged,” explains Pynkoski. “It was Laurent’s vision that encouraged us to look at David and Jonathan with fresh eyes.”
What they found was a deeply human story that mirrors classical epics. “Frequently, while working on David and Jonathan, we were all struck by its similarities to Homer’s Odyssey and The Iliad,” says Pynkoski. “The character of David, in particular, makes us think of Ulysses. Both characters are deeply flawed human beings who happen to be beloved of the gods. They are chosen, they are loved, and their frailty as human beings is what makes it possible for us to relate so closely to them.”
At the opera’s emotional centre is not only the bond between David and Jonathan, but the unraveling of Saul’s mind. “Love is the driving force in David and Jonathan. But in the psychology of the 17th century, it is always dangerous for any emotion to be overindulged,” Pynkoski explains. “In this particular case, the love between King Saul, his son Jonathan and David begins as something positive, but because it is never kept in check, it then morphs into obsession, jealousy and violence.”
As Pynkoski and Zingg excavated the work’s core, they found they rued its name: “The opera is titled David and Jonathan, but we all feel it should actually be titled “Saul,” as it is the emotional journey of his character that drives the action of the story.”
Dancing… on a level playing field
As in all of Opera Atelier’s work, movement is a crucial and signature element. “Dancing played a pivotal role in the 1688 production, as it did in our production in Versailles, and as it will in Toronto,” affirms Pynkoski. “The full corps of the Atelier Ballet will be on stage, and they will perhaps be more completely integrated into the storytelling than in any other Opera Atelier production. Jeannette’s choreography blends seamlessly into the staging for the onstage principals and ensemble.” This is by design – and by desire: “This integration of dancing into French lyric theatre of the 17th century is something that is unique to that country, and it makes the French repertoire particularly close to our hearts.”
The duo’s creative collaboration is built on shared artistic ideals from the spark of a ballet class long ago. “Jeannette and I first met in a ballet class in Toronto that was being taught by a marvelous teacher from the Royal Academy named John Marshall,” recalls Pynkoski. “Mr Marshall was visiting Toronto from London at the time. Jeannette was still a student preparing for a major ballet exam, and I had returned to Toronto from the school of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and was keeping myself in shape for auditions. Mr. Marshall was also offering pas de deux classes, and I was at once partnered with Jeannette, being a perfect height for her when she was on pointe.”
He smiles. “There is nothing like a pas de deux class for dancers to get to know each other. The cooperation necessary and the intimacy of partnering instantly wipes out any reticence or shyness you may feel.” So, “during the course of attending these classes, Jeannette and I realized we had a great deal in common. This included a love of the form and discipline we found in classical ballet. This, coupled with a love of painting, music, sculpture—the arts in general—was something that gave purpose to our lives.”
This communion of spirits might seem remarkable, given that “Jeannette and I came from very different backgrounds. Jeannette came from a sophisticated European home and had spent her life and her training in Denmark, England, Switzerland and Toronto – whereas I grew up in Scarborough with working class parents, and had not yet traveled outside of North America.” But ultimately, “classical ballet and the arts in general create a level playing field. And the differences in our upbringing were erased by our focus on music and dancing.”
Learning from the past to catalyze 21st century art
A shared passion for Baroque music was ignited at a Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra concert, where they both found themselves overwhelmed by its beauty. This early fascination led them on an international research journey—from New York’s Library of Performing Arts, to Paris (where they danced at the Moulin Rouge to fund their work), and then onward to Denmark, England, and Australia, home to 18th-century dramaturgy expert Professor Dene Barnett at Adelaide’s Flinders University.
Today, Opera Atelier is widely celebrated for its striking aesthetic and bold reinterpretations of period performance. “We like to refer to Opera Atelier as a take off point for a constantly evolving creative endeavour,” says Pynkoski. “It is true that we have developed a very specific and recognizable aesthetic, but that aesthetic has changed over the years. I would also like to emphasize that the changes have been organic—never imposed. Because we have the good fortune to surround ourselves with like-minded individuals making up the creative team, we have been able to change and evolve together, while never losing contact with our roots – even as we move into 19th and 20th century repertoire.”
Pynkoski and Lejeunesse Zingg’s commitment to period production likewise remains unchanged. “We never have been, nor will we ever be, a museum company,” Pynkoski explains. “Rather, our interest in period performance practice means that we want to understand the original intention of the composer, choreographers, or designers in question. It is not our goal to copy someone in the past. Instead, we want to see if we can learn from the past and if there are creative elements that we have lost and that may act as a catalyst for us as artists in the 21st century.”
“Opera Atelier is proud to have played a leading role in reimagining the very concept of period production,” he adds. “The building blocks we have put in place will serve us into the future well beyond our 40th anniversary.”
Expressing gratitude
And as the curtain rises this week at Koerner Hall, the team behind Opera Atelier is full of gratitude. “Jeannette and I and our entire creative team would like to find every opportunity to thank our Toronto audience for their unwavering support over the past 40 years,” Pynkoski says.
“We have faced enormous financial challenges and budgetary constraints, and have come through the exceptional difficulties presented by the COVID epidemic with a heightened sense of the importance of this repertoire – and of live performance in general. We would never have weathered these challenges without the emotional and financial support we have received from Toronto.”
Following its Toronto debut, David and Jonathan will be remounted at the Château de Versailles in May 2025. Reserve tickets for the Toronto premiere on April 9 – 13, 2025 at rcmusic.com.
© Arpita Ghosal, Sesaya Arts Magazine, 2025
