NEWSAnna Nicole Smith Opera Premieres in London
Feb. 18 2011, Published 1:15 p.m. ET
It's been four years since Anna Nicole Smith's untimely death but in London, they're celebrating the stripper-turned-model's life with an opera. Yes, you read that right — an opera! Anna Nicole premiered last night and looks like there's quite an interest in the show — six performances sold out before the show even opened!
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According to CNN, Richard Thomas, the show's lyricist explained, "It's a rags-to-riches story and a cautionary tale all chuckled into a blender and whooshed up with three bags of sugar and two bottles of tequila and poured over a two-hour time frame." Mark-Anthony Turnage, the composer, explained, "It's not a docu-opera. We're making a drama out of it. This is entertainment — a romp, before the end, which is the reverse." Plus, he notes she wasn't just a "dumb blonde." Her life "touches on so many things, it seemed to encapsulate the 21st century."
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The composer also notes that Anna Nicole's story was pretty universal. "I wanted to tell the story about a single mom. She makes some good choices. She makes some bad choices. Then she runs out of choices." Although their universal story must hit home with theater-goers who checked out the premiere last night, it wasn't exactly what the Royal Opera House could have imagined when the brains behind the opera commissioned it from them.
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According to Elaine Padmore, the head of the opera, noted, "We were shaken — then stirred — as we saw the possibilities. She adds, "Bad girls have always been the stuff of opera," she said. "Think of Carmen and Traviata. Why shouldn't Anna Nicole join opera's women?"
