of life of anna nicole smith to become opera

Life of Anna Nicole Smith to become opera: Show ‘not going to be tawdry; it is going to be witty, clever, thoughtful’

The fine line between opera and soap opera just got blurrier.

Britain’s august Royal Opera said Thursday it is planning a show based on the life of Anna Nicole Smith, the model and stripper who married an octogenarian oil tycoon, starred in her own TV show and died of a drug overdose in 2007.

The company says the show will have music by respected British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. The libretto is by Richard Thomas, co-creator of “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” an earlier merger of highbrow and lowbrow culture. It is due to run in the Royal Opera’s 2011 season.