Master composer Tom Cipullo reflects on the lives of bygone icons with Josephine and After Life, two operatic offerings paired in a searing double bill. Josephine imagines the divine Josephine Baker in all of her brilliance and difficulty, looking back at her life and her Parisian fame. This world premiere one-woman show is a tour de force for critically-acclaimed soprano Melissa Wimbish. Meanwhile, After Life examines the question: "What responsibility does a famous artist have in times of great turmoil?" The opera imagines Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso, both dead, arguing with each other in the afterlife about their actions during World War II. David Mason's libretto treats this challenging topic with humor and drama, while Cipullo's music soars. D.C.-area opera company UrbanArias brings this 90-minute short opera duo to the Atlas Performing Arts Center.