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| Covent Garden's 'money shot' |
Anna Nicole Smith: tragic opera subject, despicable trailer trash, sad detritus of modern life? All of the above? The Royal Opera commissioned a new work from British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. They suggested something that might incorporate his musical cross-over influences; he suggested Anna Nicole. And the rest is history, as they say, with the final performance of the resulting opera at Covent Garden last night. For this run, at least. Such was its popularity that we may well see this one come back.
Short review: I loved it.
Longer review: The music was absorbing – really engaging and interesting. The libretto (Richard Thomas) I found rather trite at times, but it did have a big task, to encapsulate a decidedly seedy life without making it too much of a joke. Some of the audience tittered uncomfortably at the crude humour, but it was decidedly black, especially as we all knew things were going to end badly, very badly.
The singing from our Anna, Eva-Maria Westbroek (the Dutch soprano, now a Kämmersängerin of Stuttgart State Opera, last seen and loved by this blogger in the ROH’s Tannhauser) was simply brilliant. And her acting of this sad character was superb – just the right blend of lively and self-centred. She made Anna Nicole very engaging. I have my suspicions that the real Anna Nicole may have been somewhat more gross and weird, but then she clearly emitted something fascinating to a salacious and slavering audience in her lifetime. Which was cleverly alluded to in the production by having her gradually surrounded by cameras, intruding on her every moment as her life became more absurd and degenerate.
The design and direction were excellent also, moving between multiple scenes in a fast-moving narrative with consummate ease. My only teensy suggestion is that I would have given the role of the mother a bit more prominence with a different costume and direction. It is a big role musically, and pivotal in the story; sung well by mezzo-soprano Susan Bickley (and not easy to sing either, I would think).
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| 'The sound of a Jimmy Choo on the red carpet' |
Well, this blog has never been about carefully crafted reviews – more about personal impressions. The ‘official’ reviews were extremely varied - read this review round-up. "Brilliant rubbish", some called it.
Here's what Richard Thomas said about working on the libretto:
When we started work on this opera, I asked my friends what they knew about Anna Nicole Smith,’ says librettist Richard Thomas. ‘They all replied pretty much the same way: “Isn’t she the one with the huge boob job? Married a really old billionaire? And she’s dead?” Right.‘But what most people forget is that her 20-year-old son, Daniel, whom she loved more than anyone, died at her bedside days after the birth of her daughter. It’s truly bleak and horrible. That’s what makes this such a fascinating story to tell. That’s the crucial ingredient that makes it operatic.’
‘If you put “vicomte de” and “baron de” in front of everybody’s names, and set the same story in the 19th century, you’d think it was from a classic French novel. But I love the subjects which people dismiss as trashy. They’re the ones really worth exploring.’
I can report that the audience on the last night loved it, to the extent of howling like a rock concert audience for the curtain calls. While we appreciative opera-going types gave forth with some genteel ‘bravos’, others (possibly representatives of the ‘new audience’ that the ROH hoped to capture – the ticket prices to this opera were very much reduced) leapt to their feet, hung over the balconies, sent out wild cries and waved their arms to encourage us to join them in their enthusiasm. Outside, two shiny Rolls Royces waited with their drivers to ferry away those from the Grand Tier Centre who were probably not the same people who were showing their exuberant appreciation. It was a great night, and a great audience, and the cast and orchestra deserved every accolade, the restrained kind and the wild kind. To each his own.
Turnage describes this piece of chamber music for the LSO as a variation on Anna's tune in the opera.
The opera reminded me (and others in my party agreed) of Brett Dean’s ‘Bliss’, both musically and dramatically. Both operas have a fast, strong narrative power. Turnage’s music was perhaps not as adventurous as Dean’s, and included more influences from modern forms such as jazz and electronic music. In fact, the orchestra (under the excellent Antonio Pappano) was supplemented by drums and electric guitars (the bass guitar being played by John Paul Jones, a founder of Led Zeppelin). So there were musical differences, of course. But there is a sense in which the two scores are in a similar musical tradition – perhaps if you are going to the opera in 100 years time, the contemporary opera of this period will be considered related. It might be called über verismo, or something like that. We also felt the influence, going back a little further, of Benjamin Britten – especially those big choruses in ‘Peter Grimes’, where the mob of villagers cries ‘Peter Grimes! Peter Grimes!’ Here, the large chorus cried ‘Anna Nicole! Anna Nicole!’ and in a similar way were baying for her blood. The chorus throughout ‘Anna Nicole’ was brilliantly used, by the way – like a metaphor for the voyeuristic public that Anna pursued and which eventually consumed her.
Here's how the Daily Telegraph described Turnage's score:
an Americana, brashly orchestrated and violently propulsive which embraces jazz, blues, musical comedy, and lounge smooch so ingeniously and responsively as to transcend mere pastiche. It doesn’t set out to be a complex or a subtle score, but it packs an irresistibly visceral punch.
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| May and September, as the saying goes |
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| The 'real' Anna Nicole There are any number of photos of her on the web, which I'll leave you to find yourself |
The little baby, Danielyne, is battled over in a paternity suit by Stern and another boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, who turned out to be her father. Why the fierce battle for custody? The suggestions were, because as Anna Nicole’s offspring, she may eventually see a cut of the Marshall billions. I told you it was porn.
The ROH trailer for the opera, which condenses her life into 2 mins 17 secs.
The opera followed this life story fairly closely, considering that is all had to be included in two hours, with singing. The skipped the Playboy centrefold but included the lap dancing. They skipped the rather intriguing episode where Anna Nicole turned up at Marshall's funeral in a backless white wedding dress with a lapdog under her arm. That might have made good opera. They did make rather a feature of the breast enhancement, with many members of the ROH cast acquiring significantly enhanced breasts for the evening. It is said that results of the autopsy on the real Anna Nicole can be found on the internet (I haven’t looked) and they show that she had 700 ml (almost a bottle of wine) of fluid in each pneumatic breast. There are a lot of things which could be said about this subject – and feel free to say them. I will confine myself to quoting one line from Richard Thomas’ libretto: “In the East they have the burkha; in the West the g-string”.
If you want to read a lively debate about pornography – of the it’s-exploitation-of –women v. let-women-do-what-they-want variety, one appeared by co-incidence in today's Guardian. It is thought-provoking reading, if only to marvel at how anyone could disagree with you.
If you have a chance to listen to any music by Mark-Anthony Turnage, I think you would find it time well-spent. If ‘Anna Nicole’ comes anywhere near you, go see it.
Here's some interviews and snippets from the production:
Here's some interviews and snippets from the production:
Images from:
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