STAGE TUBE: Royal Opera House's ANNA NICOLE Opera

A new opera based on the life of tabloid queen Anna Nicole Smith opened at Royal Opera House this Thurday, February 17. Already, the production's six shows, which run through March 4, are comletely sold out. The show, entitled ANNA NICOLE is described on their website as "a celebrity story of our times that includes extreme language, drug abuse and sexual content," and imposed a minimum age of 16. This new opera is provocative in its themes, exciting in its bravura style and thrilling with its sheer contemporary nerve," it added in language normally reserved for reality TV. Anna Nicole Smith's life made the news -- you can bet this world premiere will too."

The title role is played by soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek in the Mark-Anthony Turnage piece. The production includes direction by Richard Jones and a libretto by Richard Thomas, who also penned 2005's Jerry Springer: THE OPERA