Associated Press

Heggie’s new opera ‘The Judgment of Paris’ will mix mythology and an infamous wine competition
December 2025

In what figures to be a score for refined palates, the famous 1976 wine tasting in which California selections stunningly triumphed over older French vineyards will be portrayed in the opera “The Judgment of Paris” by composer Jake Heggie.

A rare comedy by Heggie, known best for turning Sister Helen Prejean’s “Dead Man Walking” and Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” into operas, will premiere on July 18 in a production the California’s Festival Napa Valley announced Wednesday.

“I was looking for something that was fun, delightful, could be kind of wacky and crazy as well as deeply meaningful and cross boundaries,” Heggie said. “One of the judges literally was demanding her scorecards back after the winners were announced. So we’re going to have a nice mad scene for that judge.”

George M. Taber wrote about the tasting for Time magazine and titled a 2005 book “Judgment of Paris,” alluding to a story from Greek mythology describing events leading to the Trojan War.

“It was such a scandal,” Heggie said. “Some of those judges were accused of being traitors by the French.”