Controversy has surrounded the new opera Anna Nicole, which recently opened in London.
Written by Mark-Anthony Turnage, Anna Nicole chronicles the rise and fall of a tabloid diva whose life was a maelstrom of controversy and legal drama. Quite how serious the real controversy is remains uncertain.
Larry Birkhead, the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn, has criticized the production and has told the website TMZ that he is exploring the possibility of legal action. Reuters has reported that Birkhead is weighing “legal options to see if they misused Anna’s image and likeness.”
Britain’s Daily Mail quoted Birkhead as saying, “No one ever gave us a chance to respond. They didn’t even ask to check whether history is correct. They could have picked up the phone and called … It is like someone took a bunch of tabloids and threw it at the producers and said, ‘see what you can do with this.’”
Anna Nicole, which opened at the Royal Opera House in London, stars soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek as Smith. The production is directed by Richard Jones and features a libretto by Richard Thomas.
Although not directly countering Birkhead’s accusations Elaine Padmore, director of the opera company issued this statement, “The audience who attended last night’s opening of the opera Anna Nicole left with the overwhelming sense of sympathy for Anna Nicole, exactly as we hoped. The opera was inspired by a true story, some characters have been invented, some events imagined or changed.
“There are no images of the real Anna Nicole Smith in any aspect of the production or its marketing. We gained permission to use a number of images of Anna Nicole Smith in the production’s souvenir program. The opera has been created by the combined talents of our writer, composer, director, designer, cast and musicians.”
