Anna Nicole, Royal Opera House - opera review: 'Mark Anthony Turnage's opera about Anna Nicole Smith rarely sparks the imagination'

Anna Nicole Smith was a Houston lap-dancer and Playboy centrefold whose fame and wealth sky-rocketed when, at the age of 26, she married an 89-year-old oil billionaire, who died 13 months later. Her career subsequently plummeted and she died, an obese junkie, in 2007.

The story is rich in operatic potential but behind the surface glamour and the novelty of the three-piece jazz band, Mark Anthony Turnage’s music rarely sparks the imagination. Tellingly, the strongest bits are the pastiches of Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man that puncture the American Dream.

Richard Thomas’s text scores hits at the expense of Walmart, silicone implanters, the sex industry, lawyers and oil billionaires. It’s racy, coarse and similarly devoid of nuance.

Richard Jones’s production is occasionally inspired but the first half, Anna on the make, can do little more than reflect the tawdry nature of the story, while her decline fails to tug at the heartstrings. A strong cast is led by the tireless Eva-Maria Westbroek under the energetic baton of Antonio Pappano but the performances are better than the work deserves.

Best sight? Stalls full of students paying between £1 and £25. But what a wasted opportunity. This audience could have been thrilled by a masterpiece.

Until Sept 24 (020 7304 4000, roh.org.uk)