Libretto by Richard Thomas (E)
Major roles: S,M,T,Bar; Minor roles: 3M,5T,3Bar,B; SATB chorus
3(III=picc,afl).3(II,III=corA).2(II=bcl).2ssax.2.dbn-4.3.3.1-timp.perc(3):vib/marimba/t.bells/wdbl(sm)/tamb/metal bar/wooden cube/guiro/tpl.bl/tgl/claves/h.bells/brake dr(lg)/SD/quica/bongo/TD/BD(lg)/susp.cym(lg)/2gongs/tam-t(lg)-harp-pft(=cel)-strings(8.8.6.6.4)
Jazz ensemble: elec.gtr(=banjo,mand)-elec.bass(=mand)-drums
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
"I’ll eat my six-gallon hat if it’s not a stonking great hit... It’s often very funny, but it’s not just a crude farce with a downbeat ending: I think it is underpinned by genuine compassion for Anna Nicole and genuine scorn for the forces that mould, and then destroy her. What makes this opera so exciting, however, is that Turnage seems to have found precisely the right musical idiom for such a drama - 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."
Daily Telegraph
Eva-Maria Westbroek / Alan Oke / Gerald Finley / Susan Bickley / Loré Lixenberg / Peter Hoare / Rebecca de Pont Davies / Dominic Rowntree / Allison Cook / Andrew Rees / Grant Doyle / Wynne Evans
Richard Jones, director
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Antonio Pappano
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 23 & 26 February 2011
Opus Arte DVD 490935
