'Anna Nicole' to premiere at Royal Opera House in 2011

During the 2010-11 season, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden will host the world premiere of an opera about the life of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, announced the opera house on March 10. Composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage, Anna Nicole will premiere at Covent Garden in London on February 17, 2011.

Anna Nicole is written by Richard Thomas, who was a co-creator of the controversial West End musical Jerry Springer: The Opera. Turnage is a well-known contemporary composer whose previous operas include Greek and The Silver Tassie.

According to the Royal Opera House, Anna Nicole "looks at the high-profile celebrity lifestyle" of the model and actress, who died in 2007 at age 39 of an apparent drug overdose. Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek will perform the lead role.

Other highlights in the ROH 2010-11 season include the Royal Ballet's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the UK premiere of Philip Glass's In The Penal Colony, based on a short story by Franz Kafka.

http://www.roh.org.uk