LONDON -- Is the tragic, tawdry life story of Anna Nicole Smith, the surgically enhanced ex-stripper who made and lost millions, opera-worthy material? The critics aren't so sure.
Some reviewers slammed Anna Nicole -- which opened Thursday night at London's Royal Opera House -- as a perversely unmoving failed souffle. Others, however, have praised it as a provocative and deeply moving examination of modern celebrity culture.
The opera, by composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thomas, charts the rapid rise to fame and fortune -- acquired by posing for Playboy and marrying an 89-year-old oil tycoon -- and equally speedy downfall of the tabloids' favorite busty Texas high school dropout. The performance is filled with sex, legal battles and several drug overdoses, including Smith's own lonely demise in a hotel room at age 39.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG0g1Jrl7Yo&feature=player_embedded[/media]
Here's a sampling of reviewers' reactions: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/18/bust-up-anna-nicole-smith-opera-divides-critics/
Some reviewers slammed Anna Nicole -- which opened Thursday night at London's Royal Opera House -- as a perversely unmoving failed souffle. Others, however, have praised it as a provocative and deeply moving examination of modern celebrity culture.
The opera, by composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thomas, charts the rapid rise to fame and fortune -- acquired by posing for Playboy and marrying an 89-year-old oil tycoon -- and equally speedy downfall of the tabloids' favorite busty Texas high school dropout. The performance is filled with sex, legal battles and several drug overdoses, including Smith's own lonely demise in a hotel room at age 39.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG0g1Jrl7Yo&feature=player_embedded[/media]
Here's a sampling of reviewers' reactions: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/18/bust-up-anna-nicole-smith-opera-divides-critics/
