Juha Siltanen

This year, the Musica nova Helsinki 2019 festival presented a trans-Atlantic menu. The programme plumbed deep waters and explored lovely landscapes on a sea that knows no bounds. All this begs the question: are we driftwood, or are we actively charting a course to the future?

“My idea of a good picture is one that’s in focus and of a famous person.” Flash Flash ‒ Two Holograms and An Intermission, a chamber opera created by composer Juhani Nuorvala and librettist Juha Siltanen, fulfils the requirements set by Andy Warhol for his art, as presented in the above quote. This Finnish opera is an unusual depiction of Warhol’s various existences, a portrait of a famous lonely man surrounded by the masses.