Jake Heggie’s new one-act opera The Judgment of Paris receives its world premiere on 18 July at Festival Napa Valley, bringing together one of America’s leading contemporary composers with conductor Kent Nagano, librettist Gene Scheer and an international cast headed by Danielle de Niese and Quinn Kelsey.
The production, directed by Jean-Romain Vesperini, marks the latest collaboration between Heggie and Scheer, whose partnership has produced several acclaimed operas over the past two decades. It also represents Festival Napa Valley’s first opera commission.
Widely regarded as one of the foremost American opera composers of the 21st century, Heggie has built an international reputation through works such as Dead Man Walking, Moby-Dick, Three Decembers, It’s a Wonderful Life and, more recently, Intelligence. Since the premiere of Dead Man Walking in 2000, his operas have become regular fixtures in the repertory of major companies across the United States and abroad.
Nagano’s participation further underlines the significance of the premiere. Throughout his career, the conductor has combined the central operatic and symphonic repertoire with a longstanding commitment to contemporary music, leading numerous world premieres while championing works by many of today’s leading composers.
Despite its title, The Judgment of Paris is not a retelling of the Greek myth. Instead, Heggie and Scheer draw inspiration from the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris, the blind wine tasting in which Californian wines unexpectedly outperformed some of France’s most celebrated labels. The event is widely regarded as a turning point in modern winemaking, establishing Napa Valley as one of the world’s leading wine-producing regions.
The opera blends that historic episode with figures from classical mythology. Bacchus, the god of wine, and Venus become participants in the rivalry between French and Californian wines, using humour and fantasy to explore ideas of tradition, innovation and artistic discovery.
The cast is led by soprano Danielle de Niese as Venus and baritone Quinn Kelsey as Bacchus. They are joined by tenor Nicholas Phan as British wine merchant Steven Spurrier, mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh as Patricia Gallagher and soprano Brenda Rae as Odette Kahn. Members of Festival Napa Valley’s Manetti Shrem Opera Program complete the principal cast.
The premiere forms part of Festival Napa Valley’s 20th anniversary season and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the original Judgment of Paris wine tasting. According to the festival, additional performances are expected to follow at other venues in the United States and internationally.
For Heggie, whose operas have played a central role in shaping contemporary American music theatre, The Judgment of Paris represents another major addition to a catalogue that continues to define the evolution of opera in the United States.
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