Opera
Anna Nicole
BAM and New York City Opera present
Anna Nicole
Composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage
Libretto by Richard Thomas
Directed by Richard Jones
Conducted by Steven Sloane
Anna Nicole was commissioned by the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden, London and premiered there in February 2011
In a brilliant marriage of lowbrow bawdiness and highbrow
operatic craft, British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and
librettist Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer: The Opera)
immortalize the tumultuous life of Anna Nicole Smith—stripper,
playmate, and formidable tabloid queen.
Looking to each paparazzi-plagued chapter of the star’s story—the
bombshell centerfold, the devastated mother, the unlikely wife of
an 89-year-old billionaire—Anna Nicole captures a woman
caught between greed and exploitation. Turnage’s vibrant, eclectic
score (performed by the New York City Opera orchestra and chorus)
and Thomas’ razor-sharp libretto drive this operatic portrait, at
once comic and tragic, of modern celebrity and one woman’s warped
pursuit of the American dream.
Scenic design by Miriam Buether
Costume design by Nicky Gillibrand
Lighting design by Mimi Jordan Sherin & D.M. Wood
Choreography by Aletta Collins
By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and
copyright owner.
Leadership support for opera at BAM provided by:
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation
Major support provided by:
Aashish & Dinyar Devitre
Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, librettist Richard Thomas, and director Richard Jones discuss their new opera inspired by the life of actress, model, and tabloid star Anna Nicole Smith.
This unique workshop for opera and musical writers is led by Anna Nicole librettist Richard Thomas. Participants share their own songs, scenes, and story ideas while learning tricks of the trade.
Spend a night with the American Dream…at Anna Nicole: An Opening Affair. . With a bedazzled after-party and a glam pre-show dinner, opening night of Anna Nicole will be a sensation fit for a tabloid queen!
Theater critic Hilton Als and philosopher Alexander Nehamas join Simon Critchley to explore the notion of beauty as defined in the bold new opera Anna Nicole.
Sarah Joy Miller has performed with the New York Lyric Opera and the Long Island Opera.
Richard Thomas is an award-winning British composer and writer.
Mark-Anthony Turnage creates contemporary orchestral and operatic music with jazz elements.
The 2013 Next Wave Festival showcases the very best in contemporary performance, plus artist talks, storytelling, visual art, and film.
Mon, Sep 9 at 7:30pm
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Part of Works & Process