Death.

Betrayal.

Revenge.

Lust.

Opera just wasn't tawdry enough - so London's Royal Opera House (ROH) has announced plans to add "playmates" to the list of opera topics.

The ROH will premiere a new opera, Anna Nicole, by composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and writer Richard Thomas, about Anna Nicole Smith. Smith was a stripper, turned Playboy model, turned oil tycoon heiress, that died in 2007 of a drug overdose.

Turnage is best known for his earlier Jerry Spinger: The Opera.

The opera will have its Covent Garden premiere on 17 February 2011, with Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek (above) in the lead.

Some may be shocked by the subject matter, but the controversy is sure to help get people in the door, as tales of death, betrayal, revenge and lust have in the past.

What do you think - are you ready to place Anna Nicole Smith in the pantheon of opera heroines, along with Carmen, Lady MacBeth and Salome?

Link:

• ROH
• BBC Coverage

James Lewin
Twitter @podcasting_news

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