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‘O ravishing delight’: the politics of pleasure in The Judgment of Paris

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2003

AMANDA EUBANKS WINKLER
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Abstract

London composers competed for a music prize in 1701, setting William Congreve's libretto on the judgment of Paris, a beauty contest among Juno, Pallas and Venus. Paris, contest judge, exiled prince and amorous shepherd, prefers Venus, placing love above Juno's promised empire and Pallas's martial success. This essay reveals the general political meanings of the judgment of Paris myth, shows how the tale had been used to critique Charles II and James II, examines the political beliefs of the sponsors and librettist, and demonstrates how music by John Eccles, Daniel Purcell and John Weldon supported the politics of Congreve's libretto.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Cambridge Opera Journal , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2003 , pp. 15 - 31
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

Earlier versions of this article were delivered at the British Musicological Societies' Conference, University of Surrey, 1999 and the American Musicological Society Midwest Chapter Meeting, Chicago, 1999. I am grateful to the Folger Shakespeare Library for awarding me a long-term fellowship (funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities), which facilitated the completion of this project.