New Sussex Opera stages Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s operatic masterpiece David and Jonathan, bringing this dark Baroque jewel with its achingly beautiful score – sensuous and dancelike by turns – to London and the South for the first time.

A biblical tragedy set in a war-torn world, it sees love and duty collide, with David, Jonathan, and Saul caught in a destructive web of desire, politics, and paranoia. This English-language staging reveals a profoundly moving portrait of loyalty and sacrifice, building to a tragic climax that lets Charpentier’s richly expressive music shine.

Performed in English.

6pm: Pre-performance talk

Broadcaster Donald Macleod discusses Charpentier and his world with conductor Toby Purser, director Paul Higgins, and choreographer Namiko Gahier-Ogawa. Free to concert ticket holders.