New York City Opera and BAM Present U.S. Premiere of ANNA NICOLE Opera Tonight

New York City Opera's 2013-14 season and BAM's 2013 Next Wave Festival begin with the U.S. premiere of Anna Nicole, an opera by composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thomas based on the flamboyant life and tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith. This highly anticipated co-production includes seven performances at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, tonight, September 17 and September 19, 21, 24, 25, 27, and 28 at 7:30pm. Individual tickets are on sale August 12 (August 5 for Friends of BAM) at BAM.org or through BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100.

Steven Sloane will conduct 66 members of the New York City Opera Orchestra. Richard Jones will direct a large cast of Broadway veterans and accomplished opera singers: Sarah Joy Miller (Anna Nicole), James Barbour (Daddy Hogan, Anna Nicole's father),Susan Bickley (Virgie, Anna Nicole's mother), Robert Brubaker (J. Howard Marshall II, Anna Nicole's second husband), Ben Davis(Billy, Anna Nicole's first husband), John Easterlin (Larry King, a television journalist), Rod Gilfry (Stern, Anna Nicole's lawyer),Michael Hance (Mayor of Mexia), Joshua Jeremiah (Deputy Mayor of Mexia, Roy Fiction), Elizabeth Pojanowski (Shelley, Anna Nicole's cousin), Christina Sajous (Blossom), Mary Testa (Aunt Kay), Richard Troxell (Doctor Yes), and Stephen Wallem (Trucker). The production's jazz trio features Peter Erskine (drums), Lincoln Schleifer (bass/mandolin), and Nir Felder (guitar/mandolin).

Commissioned by London's Royal Opera House, Anna Nicole premiered at Covent Garden in February, 2011 under the direction of Richard Jones. The Times (UK) called it "jazzy, bitter-sweet, fizzing, moody and often touchingly tender." The New York Times said, "Mr. Turnage's music is the primary reason that so much seemed so right in Anna Nicole...in the end this is a musically rich, audacious and inexplicably poignant work." The Independent (UK) said "Richard Thomas' libretto would carry the day even if the score weren't as terrific as it is: varied, acidic, lyrical and occasionally heartbreaking."

Turnage's dynamic score draws on jazz, blues, musical theater, and traditional operatic structures; Thomas (co-creator, Jerry Springer: the Opera) provides the razor-sharp and darkly humorous libretto.

Anna Nicole tells the story of Anna Nicole Smith, a small-town Texas waitress (and later, exotic dancer) in pursuit of the American Dream. Smith wed an octogenarian billionaire and became a Playboy model and tabloid celebrity, living a life of excess and substance abuse under the constant glare of the media until her death at the age of 39. This dynamic production mixes comedy and tragedy and boldly confronts issues of modern celebrity, greed, and exploitation.

CREDITS

By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.

New York City Opera gratefully acknowledges Emilie Roy Corey; Michael and Mary Gellert; the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation Inc., in memory of Theodore and Caroline Newhouse; The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund; and Charles R. Wall.

New York City Opera also expresses deep thanks to its Board of Directors for their extraordinary generosity, especially Board Chairman Charles R. Wall for his exemplary leadership.

Public support for New York City Opera is provided, in part, by the, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

American Airlines is the official airline of New York City Opera.

American Express is the BAM 2013 Next Wave Festival Sponsor.

Leadership support for BAM Opera provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Stavros Niarchos Foundation; and The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

Major support for opera provided by Aashish & Dinyar Devitre.

Additional support for opera at BAM provided by The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust.

Programming in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House is supported and endowed by The Howard Gilman Foundation.

Your tax dollars make BAM programs possible through funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. The BAM facilities are owned by the City of New York and benefit from public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with support from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin; the New York City Council including Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Finance Committee Chair Domenic M. Recchia Jr., Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer, the Brooklyn Delegation of the Council, and Councilwoman Letitia James; and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

BAM would like to thank the Brooklyn Delegations of the New York State Assembly, Joseph R. Lentol, Delegation Leader; and New York Senate, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Delegation Leader.

GENERAL INFORMATION

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, is open for dining prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Fridayand Saturday nights with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 6pm.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater), D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue

Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal-Barclays Center

Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM
Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

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