Anna Nicole Opera in the Works
LONDON (April 5) - Covent Garden plans to stage a work based on the
life of late Playboy model and reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith
during its 2010/11 season, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The libretto for the work is being written by Richard Thomas, co-
creator of the hit musical "Jerry Springer: The Opera", which fringe
Christian groups labelled as offensive and blasphemous. Mark-Anthony
Turnage is composing the music.

Gregg DeGuire, WireImage.com
Anna Nicole's
"Incredible Story"
The trials and tribulations of Anna Nicole Smith are heading to a
London stage -- in the form of an opera. Richard Thomas, co-creator
of the hit musical "Jerry Springer: The Opera," says the former
Playboy Playmate's life is "an incredible story."
"We have not announced it yet, but it is in the plan at this stage
and something we are looking at for the period 2010/11," the
spokeswoman said.

The decision to stage the new opera at the Royal Opera House in
central London may lead to renewed complaints that the prestigious
company is "dumbing down".

Opera magazine accused Covent Garden bosses recently of "showing
classic signs of mid-life crisis and going to unseemly lengths to get
younger flesh on its seats."

Smith died aged 39 of an accidental prescription drug overdose in
Florida in February 2007 and is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Nassau
alongside her son.

At the time of her death, Smith was embroiled in a long-running legal
battle over the will of her late husband, billionaire oil tycoon
Howard Marshall. They had married when she was 26 years old and he
was 89.