Alban Berg - Lulu

This dramatic opera by Alban Berg, premiering in 1937, follows the tumultuous life and love affairs of the alluring Lulu. Exploring the boundaries of "appropriate" female sexuality, LULU shows the downfall of its ex-prostitute main character. Everyone falls in love easily with Lulu, and her string of marriages and affairs, including a lesbian affair with the Countess Geschwitz, testify to her powers of attraction. However, her dark secret looms, and when revealed, drives her partners to suicide or worse! Composer Alban Berg outlined, but never completed the third act of LULU, and because of problems with his estate, the opera was not staged as a whole until 1979. This Zurich Opera production relies on Berg's original two-act version, with a finale comprised of the "Variations" and "Adagio" from the "Lulu Suite."