OTYC: The Judgment of Paris

John Eccles’ The Judgment of Paris is on opera in the style of “historically informed performance,” meaning we will aim musically and artistically to follow the conventions of Baroque music as interpreted by artists in the HIP tradition of the late 20th-21st century.

The god Mercury descends from the sky with the golden apple of Discord and asks the shepherd Paris to award it to whichever of the three goddesses - Juno, Pallas and Venus - he finds most worthy. Juno offers him worldly power, Pallas victory in war, and Venus the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris gives the golden apple to Venus.

The plot centers on the male gaze; our direction will flip that, instead presenting each goddess as a postmodern “sign” who will make us rethink the millenia-old tale.