Featuring a dynamic performance from Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves), this opulent historical drama, inspired by the true story of composer Joseph Bologne, brims with intrigue, romance, and sumptuous music, while turning the spotlight on a brilliant Black artist whose legacy has been woefully obscured.

Born in Guadeloupe in 1745 as the illegitimate son of an enslaved African and a white French aristocrat, Joseph Bologne AKA Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Harrison) was raised in privilege and educated as a free man; a prodigious talent, he was a musical virtuoso who was also adept at poetry and horse-riding. This welcome biopic opens with an audacious sequence in which Bologne challenges Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a violin duel, after which he finds himself in Marie Antoinette’s (Lucy Boynton) inner circle, attracting the attention of admirers whilst furthering his ambition to lead the Paris Opera.

Notes by David O’Mahony.