Andy Warhol famously declared, “in the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” For him, obviously, its much more and now he has even kind of a music theatre dedicated to his philosophy. Andy: A Popera runs from September 10-20 at Opera Philadelphia. Together with Bearded Ladies Cabaret, the American opera house places the pop-art icon and his concept of fame at the center of a World Premiere mashup of opera and cabaret.
Drawing from the life and work of Warhol, the Popera puts singing soup cans, Marilyns, and a randy banana on stage with contemporary versions of Warhol Superstars like actress Candy Darling and socialite Edie Sedgwick, his mother Julia Warhola, and feminist writer and would-be assassin Valerie Solanas. The site-specific work by composers Heath Allen and Dan Visconti, with a libretto by John Jarboe, explores what Warhol has become today and asks, “What happens when a man becomes a brand?”
