A new chamber opera by Matt Boehler, commissioned by Victory Hall Opera

based on the play by Neil LaBute

Libretto by Miriam Gordon-Stewart

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

When Tom begins dating Helen, a confident plus-sized woman, he succumbs to the taunts and judgment of his peers. In Helen, we finally see an operatic character, written specifically for a fat performer, telling of an experience that is all too common.

Tracy Cox (Helen), fat-activist and co-star of the popular YouTube series Angry Fat People, speaks about Fat Pig:

“Yikes – what a title. Why would I want to be associated with such a project? Why would I, as a self- identified fat person and activist, want to sing the title role in an opera with such a startling name?

Because this project endeavors to tell one of the stories of the fat experience — a subject that has never before been approached in opera. This piece tells the story of a fat woman who falls in love with a man in a normative body, and the tragedy that follows when the misogyny and fatmisia of the man’s friends and colleagues prove too much for them to overcome. This is a common experience for fat people — having intimate partners who won’t take the relationship public because they are unwilling or unable to deal with the realities of the deeply ingrained fatphobia in our society.

This is a topic that I have written and spoken about as a fat activist, and I was frankly blown away that both the playwright Neil LaBute and Victory Hall Opera had seen the value in telling such a story.”

Public reading on November 23, 2020,  to be followed by a full production in 2021.

Starring Tracy Cox (Helen), Keith Phares (Tom), Sarah Wolfson (Jeannie) and Will Ferguson (Carter)