Birkhead to Sue Over ANNA NICOLE Opera?

Larry Birkhead, former boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith, might take legal action against the recently opened ANNA NICOLE opera playing Royal Opera House, according to Reuters. Birkhead claims that the ROH never attempted to contact him or Smith's estate about the production.

Birkhead has not seen the show, but said of the star, "That lady is no Anna Nicole. We are looking at our legal options to see if they misused Anna's image and likeness. We are going to have the estate attorneys look at what can be done about it."

He added, "They said it was going to be something that was tastefully done. But then they put a trailer out on YouTube that was really kind of trashy and tabloidy."

A new opera based on the life of tabloid queen Anna Nicole Smith opened at Royal Opera House yesterday,February 17. 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

Smith first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993 Playmate of the Year. She modeled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans and Lane Bryant. She dropped out of high school and was married in 1985. Her highly publicized second marriage to oil business mogul J. Howard Marshall, 62 years her senior, resulted in speculation that she married the octogenarian for his money, which she denied.

Following Marshall's death, Smith began a lengthy legal battle over a share of his estate; her case, Marshall v. Marshall, reached the U.S. Supreme Court on a question of federal jurisdiction. She died on February 8, 2007 in a Hollywood, Florida hotel room as a result of an overdose of prescription drugs. Within the final six months of her life, Smith was the focus of renewed press coverage surrounding the death of her son, Daniel and the paternity and custody battle over her birth daughter Dannielynn.

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