Opera based on Springer show to bow in Britain

An outrageous opera based on Jerry Springer’s syndicated talk show is to have its world premiere at Britain’s National Theater.

“It is exactly the kind of work the National should be doing: bold, scabrous, funny and beautiful,” said the National Theater’s new director, Nicholas Hytner.

In concert form, “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” by composer Richard Thomas and comic writer Stewart Lee, was one of the biggest hits at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Now it is to be given a full-scale production in London next April.