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Lulu (opera)
Encyclopedia
Lulu is an opera
by the composer
Alban Berg
. The libretto
was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind
's plays
Erdgeist
(Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora
(Pandora's Box, 1904).
, but did not begin work on his opera until 1929, after he had completed his other opera,
Wozzeck
. He worked steadily on the score until 1935, when the death of Manon Gropius, the daughter of Walter Gropius
and Alma Mahler, prompted him to break off work to write his Violin Concerto
.
Berg completed the violin concerto swiftly, but the time he spent on that meant he was unable to complete the opera before his death later in 1935. The following portions of the third and final act were fully scored: the first 268 bars; the instrumental interlude between scenes 1 and 2; and the finale of the opera, beginning with the monologue of Countess Geschwitz. (The last two of these passages comprise the fourth and fifth movements of the Lulu Suite which Berg compiled for concert performance.) The rest of the work remained in short score with indications of instrumentation
for much of it.
The opera was first performed by the Zurich Opera
in an incomplete form in 1937. Erwin Stein
made a vocal score of the whole of act 3 following Berg's death, and Helene Berg, Alban's widow, approached Arnold Schoenberg
to complete the orchestration. Schoenberg at first accepted, but upon being sent copies of Berg's sketches he changed his mind, saying that it would be a more time-consuming task than he had thought. Helene subsequently forbade anybody else to complete the opera, and for over forty years only the first two acts could be given complete, usually with the act 3 portions of the Lulu Suite played in place of act 3. The last recording made of the original two-act version—Christoph von Dohnányi
conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, with Anja Silja
in the title role (Decca/London, recorded 1976 and released 1978)—presented it in this form.
Director Heinz Ruckert shot the silent film
featured at the midpoint according to Berg's exacting specifications. The film wordlessly depicts Lulu's arrest, trial, incarceration, and ultimate liberation thanks to the cunning of the Countess Geschwitz. Like the music for this sequence (and the opera as a whole), the film has a palindromic
structure. The original film is lost save for four stills which remain in the Zurich Stadtarchiv. Each successive production requires a new film to be shot with the stage actors. However, many recent productions omit the film altogether.
in New Mexico
during the 1963 season, with the American soprano Joan Carroll in the title role. The Opera's general director, John Crosby
, attempted to negotiate for Santa Fe to stage the American premiere of the full three-act opera, but was not successful.
Helene Berg's death in 1976, just six months before the Metropolitan Opera
was due to present the American premiere (in a production by John Dexter
), paved the way for a new completed version to be made by Friedrich Cerha
. Published in 1979, this version premiered on February 24 of the same year at the Opera Garnier
and was conducted by Pierre Boulez
, with Teresa Stratas
singing the lead role; the production (by Patrice Chéreau
) was a sensation and the recording won the Gramophone Award
for 1979. The Santa Fe Opera's John Crosby had previously negotiated with the opera's publisher, Alfred Kalmus of Universal Edition
, to present the American premiere of the complete version and "on July 28th 1979, nearly forty-four years after Berg's death, Lulu [with Nancy Shade
] was finally performed in its entirety in this country".
ringmaster introduces the various animals in his menagerie
. The last is Lulu herself, who is carried on stage and introduced as a snake
, tamed by human reason.
The Painter is painting Lulu's portrait. Dr. Schön, a newspaper
editor, is also present. Dr. Schön's son, Alwa, a musician, arrives. He excuses himself because he has to go to a rehearsal, and he and Dr. Schön leave. Alone with Lulu, the Painter makes heavy passes at her; she rejects him initially but then succumbs. Dr. Goll, an elderly professor of medicine who is Lulu's husband and calls her Nelly, unexpectedly arrives. He breaks the door down, finds Lulu together with the Painter, and dies of a heart attack
. While the Painter goes to call a doctor, Lulu is left with her husband's corpse and reflects that she is now rich.
Scene 2: In Lulu's apartment
Lulu has married the Painter. He has been very successful since their marriage. She receives several pieces of mail from various admirers (one of them a woman) and a telegram
announcing Dr. Schön's engagement, which seems to trouble her. She is visited by Schigolch, a tramp who seems to have featured in her past in some unspecified way and may even be her father Dr. Schön arrives to ask Lulu to stay out of his life from now on, since he is engaged and it would be scandalous for them to see each other socially. A heated discussion ensues which is interrupted by the Painter. Lulu leaves in a huff. Dr. Schön tells the Painter about his affair with Lulu. He reveals that he has known her since she was 12 years old, and informs the Painter about various other sordid details of Lulu's life. The Painter is shocked that Lulu has concealed so much of her past from him and Schön insists he confront his wife about it. The Painter leaves, ostensibly to confront Lulu, but then horrible groans are heard offstage – he has locked himself in the bathroom. Alwa arrives with a message for Schön: revolution has broken out in Paris
and Schön's newspaper is trying to cope with the flood of news. Alwa helps Dr. Schön break down the bathroom door, and all are horrified to see the Painter has cut his throat. Dr. Schön hopes the news will cover up the scandal. The police arrive as Lulu comments to Dr. Schön, "You will marry me after all."
Scene 3: In Lulu's dressing room in the theatre
Lulu is now working as a successful dancer. She is sitting in her dressing room with Alwa. The two discuss various things, including an African prince who wants to marry her. Lulu leaves to take the stage. Alwa contemplates writing an opera based on Lulu's life, but as he draws out the scenes he comes to the conclusion that they are too gruesome. Suddenly the alarm goes off and Lulu returns after having "fainted" on stage. In fact, she is refusing to continue because Dr. Schön and his fiancée are in the audience. Dr. Schön comes in to try to persuade her to perform. When the two are left alone, she tells Schön that she is thinking of leaving with the Prince for Africa. Dr. Schön realises that he cannot live without her. He is compelled by Lulu to write a letter to his fiancée breaking off the engagement. Lulu then leaves to continue with the show.
Lulu has now married Dr. Schön, who is full of jealousy over her many admirers. One of them, the lesbian Countess Geschwitz, visits her to invite her to a ball, but leaves in the face of Dr. Schön's disapproval. Lulu tries to convince Schön to go out for a stroll but he refuses, because it is his day at the Stock Exchange
. When the two go out, the Countess returns and hides. Dr. Schön also comes back and hides in a different place. Two other admirers, the Acrobat and the Schoolboy, also enter, and all begin to talk to Lulu when she returns. When Alwa is announced, they all hide. Alwa and Lulu begin having lunch and Alwa declares his love for Lulu. Dr.Schön reveals himself, pushes Alwa from the room and begins a long argument with Lulu, during the course of which he discovers all her other admirers. He gives Lulu a revolver
, and orders her to kill herself, but when the Schoolboy jumps out from under the table he is distracted and she shoots Schön. The police arrive to arrest her for murder despite her pleas to Alwa to let her remain free.
Interlude
The interlude consists of a silent film
(accompanied by Berg's palindromic score). In it, we see Lulu's arrest, trial, conviction and imprisonment. Then we see her deliberately contract cholera
and be transferred to hospital. The Countess Geschwitz visits her, and the older woman gives Lulu her clothes, so Lulu can escape.
Scene 2: The same place as Scene 1, one year later
The Countess Geschwitz, Alwa and the Acrobat are awaiting Schigolch, who will take the Countess to the hospital. She is going to sacrifice her own freedom by taking Lulu's place so that nobody will discover she has escaped until it is too late. The Acrobat says he is going to marry Lulu and move with her to Paris where the two will work in an act together. Schigolch arrives and asks for a breath (he is asthmatic). Before she leaves, Alwa offers the Countess money to cover her expenses but she refuses, and leaves with Schigolch. Alwa and the Acrobat begin a discussion but are interrupted by the Schoolboy who has just come out of prison and has also devised a scheme to free Lulu. Alwa and the Acrobat lie to him by saying that Lulu is dead and he leaves heartbroken. Lulu arrives looking very pale and weak from her illness. The Acrobat is disgusted at seeing her in this state, abandons his plan and goes off saying that he will summon the police instead. But Lulu has been play-acting in order to get rid of him. Schigolch goes to buy train tickets. Left alone with Alwa, Lulu seduces him again, they declare their love for each other and agree to go away together. She asks him "Isn't this the sofa on which your father bled to death?"
A grand party is taking place at Lulu's house in Paris. The magnificent performance of Jungfrau Railway shares, in which everyone at the party has put all their money, is the main topic of discussion.Lulu is being blackmailed by the Marquis who wants to sell her to a Cairo brothel. She is still wanted for Dr. Schön's murder in Germany and the Marquis threatens to turn her in if she does not meet his demands. The Acrobat is also blackmailing her. When Schigolch arrives, asking for money, Lulu collapses in despair. They agree to lure the Acrobat to a hotel where Schigolch will murder him. Lulu then convinces the Countess to lure the Acrobat there. Lulu goes off to prepare her escape, as the police are on the way. News arrives that the railway shares have crashed. Everyone is ruined. The party quickly breaks up.Lulu has changed clothes with a young waiter and leaves, dragging Alwa behind her. The police arrive to recapture her and mistake the waiter for Lulu, giving her time to escape.
Scene 2: In Lulu's room in London
Lulu and Alwa are now living with Schigolch in poverty and are on the run. Lulu is working as a prostitute. She arrives with a client, a creepy professor (played by the actor who played Dr. Goll, Lulu's first husband). The Countess Geschwitz then arrives with the portrait of Lulu which she has brought from Paris. Alwa hangs it on the wall. Lulu is disturbed at seeing the portrait and rushes from the room, followed by Geschwitz. In time Lulu returns with another client, the Negro (played by the singer who played the Painter, Lulu's second husband). He is angered at being asked to pay in advance, kills Alwa in a struggle, and leaves. Lulu rushes out in hysterics and Schigolch removes the body. Geschwitz returns and contemplates suicide, but is interrupted by Lulu who returns with a third client, Jack the Ripper (played by singer who played Dr. Schön, Lulu's third husband). Lulu seems drawn to him and eventually offers to give herself to him without payment. They go into the adjoining room. Geschwitz resolves to return to Germany and work for women's rights, but she is interrupted by Lulu's death scream offstage. Jack emerges from the room and stabs Geschwitz as well, then leaves. The Countess declares her eternal love for Lulu and dies.
for 3 flute
s (all doubling on piccolo
), 3 oboe
s (3rd doubles English horn
), 3 clarinet
s in B-flat (1st and 2nd doubling E-flat clarinet
), bass clarinet
in B-flat, alto saxophone
in E-flat, 3 bassoon
s (3rd doubling contrabassoon
), 4 horns
in F, 3 trumpet
s in C, 3 trombone
s, tuba
, percussion
(8 players), timpani
, piano
, harp
and strings
.
The onstage jazz band in I iii (which can be drawn from the pit players) consists of: 3 clarinets in Bb; bass clarinet in Bb; alto saxophone in Eb; tenor saxophone in Bb; contrabassoon; 2 "Jazz trumpets" in B; 2 Jazz trumpets in C; 2 Jazz trombones; Sousaphone
; jazz drum set (3 players); banjo
; piano; 3 violins with jazz horns
; contrabass. In III i Cerha's edition uses a smaller onstage ensemble that includes piccolo; flute; 3 clarinets & bass clarinet; ...Contrabassoon...
It is the work that introduced into the orchestra of Western art music the vibraphone, an instrument that was previously solely associated with jazz.
The large-scale structure of Lulu is often said to be like a mirror – Lulu's popularity in the first act is mirrored by the squalor she lives in during act 3, and this is emphasised by Lulu's husbands in act 1 being played by the same singers as her clients in act 3.
This mirror-like structure is further emphasised by the film interlude at act 2 at the very centre of the work. The events shown in the film are a miniature version of the mirror structure of the opera as a whole (Lulu enters prison and then leaves again) and the music accompanying the film is an exact palindrome
– it reads the same forwards as backwards. The centre-point of this palindrome is indicated by an arpeggio
played on the piano
, first rising, then falling (shown here on the top staff
).
I:
Cell z is also one of the basic cells in Béla Bartók
's String Quartet No. 4
.
Although some of Lulu is freely composed, Berg also makes use of his teacher Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique
. Rather than using one tone row
for the entire work, however, he gives each character his or her own tone row, meaning that the tone rows act rather like the leitmotif
s in Richard Wagner
's operas.
From this one tone row, Berg derives tone rows for many of the characters. For example, the tone row associated with Lulu herself is: F, G, A, B, C, D, F, D, E, A, B, C. This row is constructed by extracting one note (F) from the basic row's first trichord, then taking the next note (G) from the basic row's second trichord, then taking the third note (A) from the basic row's third trichord, and so on, cycling through the basic row three times.
The tone row associated with Alwa is arrived at by repeating the basic tone row over and over and taking every seventh note;
this results in the following tone row:
B, F, E, G, F, B, E, D, A, C, C, G
Similarly, the tone row associated with Dr. Schön is arrived at by repeating the basic tone row (as in the previous example) and taking the first note, missing one note, taking the next, missing two, taking the next, missing three, taking the next, missing three, taking the next, missing two, taking the next, missing one, taking the next, missing one, taking the next, missing two, taking the next, and so on;
This results in the following tone row:
B, E, G, G, D, F, E, A, B, C, F, C
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by the composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind , usually known as Frank Wedekind, was a German playwright...
's plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Erdgeist
Earth Spirit (play)
Earth Spirit is a play by the German dramatist Frank Wedekind. It forms the first part of his pairing of 'Lulu' plays , both of which depict a society "riven by the demands of lust and greed". In German folklore an erdgeist is a gnome, first described in Goethe's Faust...
(Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora
Pandora's Box (play)
Pandora's Box is a play by the German dramatist Frank Wedekind. It forms the second part of his pairing of 'Lulu' plays , both of which depict a society "riven by the demands of lust and greed".G. W. Pabst directed a silent film version , which was loosely based on the play, in 1929...
(Pandora's Box, 1904).
Composition history
Berg first saw Die Büchse der Pandora in 1905 in a production by Karl KrausKarl Kraus
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...
, but did not begin work on his opera until 1929, after he had completed his other opera,
Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
. He worked steadily on the score until 1935, when the death of Manon Gropius, the daughter of Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
and Alma Mahler, prompted him to break off work to write his Violin Concerto
Violin Concerto (Berg)
Alban Berg's Violin Concerto was written in 1935 . It is probably Berg's best-known and most frequently performed instrumental piece.-Conception and composition:...
.
Berg completed the violin concerto swiftly, but the time he spent on that meant he was unable to complete the opera before his death later in 1935. The following portions of the third and final act were fully scored: the first 268 bars; the instrumental interlude between scenes 1 and 2; and the finale of the opera, beginning with the monologue of Countess Geschwitz. (The last two of these passages comprise the fourth and fifth movements of the Lulu Suite which Berg compiled for concert performance.) The rest of the work remained in short score with indications of instrumentation
Instrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
for much of it.
The opera was first performed by the Zurich Opera
Zurich Opera
Oper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
in an incomplete form in 1937. Erwin Stein
Erwin Stein
Erwin Stein was an Austrian musician and writer, prominent as a pupil and friend of Schoenberg, with whom he studied between 1906 and 1910. He was one of Schoenberg’s principal assistants in organizing the Society for Private Musical Performances...
made a vocal score of the whole of act 3 following Berg's death, and Helene Berg, Alban's widow, approached Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
to complete the orchestration. Schoenberg at first accepted, but upon being sent copies of Berg's sketches he changed his mind, saying that it would be a more time-consuming task than he had thought. Helene subsequently forbade anybody else to complete the opera, and for over forty years only the first two acts could be given complete, usually with the act 3 portions of the Lulu Suite played in place of act 3. The last recording made of the original two-act version—Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi is a German conductor of Hungarian ancestry.- Youth and World War II :Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to jurist Hans von Dohnányi and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian/ethicist...
conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, with Anja Silja
Anja Silja
Anja Silja Regina Langwagen, , born April 17, 1940, in Berlin, is a German soprano who is known for her great abilities as a singing-actress and for the vastness of her repertoire....
in the title role (Decca/London, recorded 1976 and released 1978)—presented it in this form.
Director Heinz Ruckert shot the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
featured at the midpoint according to Berg's exacting specifications. The film wordlessly depicts Lulu's arrest, trial, incarceration, and ultimate liberation thanks to the cunning of the Countess Geschwitz. Like the music for this sequence (and the opera as a whole), the film has a palindromic
Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
structure. The original film is lost save for four stills which remain in the Zurich Stadtarchiv. Each successive production requires a new film to be shot with the stage actors. However, many recent productions omit the film altogether.
Performance history
In its two-act form plus sketches of the third act, Lulu made its American debut at the Santa Fe OperaSanta Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
during the 1963 season, with the American soprano Joan Carroll in the title role. The Opera's general director, John Crosby
John Crosby (conductor)
John O’Hea Crosby was an American musician, conductor and arts administrator...
, attempted to negotiate for Santa Fe to stage the American premiere of the full three-act opera, but was not successful.
Helene Berg's death in 1976, just six months before the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
was due to present the American premiere (in a production by John Dexter
John Dexter
John Dexter was an English theatre, opera, and film director.- Theatre :Born in Derby, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British army during World War II. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for...
), paved the way for a new completed version to be made by Friedrich Cerha
Friedrich Cerha
Friedrich Cerha is an Austrian composer and conductor.-Biography:Cerha was born in Vienna.He received his education at the Viennese Music Academy and at the University of Vienna...
. Published in 1979, this version premiered on February 24 of the same year at the Opera Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
and was conducted by Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, with Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas, OC , is a retired Canadian operatic soprano. She is especially well-known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's Lulu.-Early life and career:...
singing the lead role; the production (by Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau is a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor, and producer.-Biography:Patrice Chéreau was born in Lézigné, Maine-et-Loire, and went to school in Paris. At a young age he became well-known to Parisian critics as director, actor, and stage manager of his high-school theatre...
) was a sensation and the recording won the Gramophone Award
Gramophone Award
The Gramophone Awards are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry, often referred to as the Oscars for classical music. The winners are selected annually by critics for the Gramophone magazine and various members of the industry, including...
for 1979. The Santa Fe Opera's John Crosby had previously negotiated with the opera's publisher, Alfred Kalmus of Universal Edition
Universal Edition
Universal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...
, to present the American premiere of the complete version and "on July 28th 1979, nearly forty-four years after Berg's death, Lulu [with Nancy Shade
Nancy Shade
Nancy Shade is a celebrated spinto soprano, best known as a singing-actress. She made her formal debut as Leonora in Il trovatore, in Louisville, in 1967. In 1971, she made her first of many appearances at the New York City Opera, as Musetta in La bohème...
] was finally performed in its entirety in this country".
Roles
| Role | Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types... |
Zurich Opera premiere, 2 act version, 2 June 1937 (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Robert Denzler) |
Paris Opéra premiere, 3 act version, 24 February 1979 (Conductor: Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics... ) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lulu | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Nuri Hadzic | Teresa Stratas Teresa Stratas Teresa Stratas, OC , is a retired Canadian operatic soprano. She is especially well-known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's Lulu.-Early life and career:... |
||
| Countess Geschwitz | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Maria Bernhard | Yvonne Minton Yvonne Minton Yvonne Fay Minton CBE is an Australian opera singer. She is variously billed as a soprano, mezzo-soprano or contralto.Yvonne Minton was born in Sydney, New South Wales. She studied voice on a scholarship at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. She won the National Eisteddfod in Canberra,... |
||
| A high-school boy ("Der Gymnasiast") | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Erika Feichtinger | Hanna Schwarz Hanna Schwarz Hanna Schwarz , is a German mezzo-soprano and contralto opera singer.She studied psychology and voice in Hamburg and continued at the Folkwang Hochschule and at the Musikhochschule Hannover. She made her debut in 1970, in the role of Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto, at the Staatsoper Hannover... |
||
| A theatrical dresser A groom |
contralto | Frida Kurz Erika Feichtinger |
Hanna Schwarz | ||
| The banker | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Walter Frank | Jules Bastin Jules Bastin Jules Bastin was a Belgian operatic bass. Born in Brussels, he made his debut in 1960 at La Monnaie, singing Charon in L'Orfeo. He appeared at major opera houses throughout Europe, including the Royal Opera House, La Scala, and the Palais Garnier; he also sang at opera houses in North and South... |
||
| The painter, Lulu's second husband | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Paul Feher | Robert Tear Robert Tear Robert Tear, CBE was a Welsh tenor and conductor.Tear was born in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, UK, the son of Thomas and Edith Tear. He attended Barry Boys' Grammar School and during this period sang in the chorus of the first Welsh National Opera's production of 'Cavalleria Rusticana' in April 1946... |
||
| A negro | tenor | Paul Feher | Robert Tear | ||
| Dr Schön, editor-in-chief | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Asger Stig | Franz Mazura Franz Mazura Franz Mazura is an Austrian bass-baritone opera singer and actor. He was made a Kammersänger in 1980 and an Honorary Member of the National Theater of Mannheim in 1990... |
||
| Alwa, Dr Schön's son, a composer | tenor | Peter Baxevanos | Kenneth Riegel | ||
| Schigolch, an old man | bass | Fritz Honisch | Toni Blankenheim Toni Blankenheim Toni Blankenheim is a German operatic baritone. He notably sang the role of Schigolch in the 1981 recording of Alban Berg's Lulu which won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. He is also on record singing the role of Alberich at Bayreuth. His memorable Beckmesser with the Hamburg State Opera... |
||
| An animal tamer | bass | Albert Emmerich | Gerd Nienstedt | ||
| Rodrigo, an athlete | bass | Albert Emmerich | Gerd Nienstedt | ||
| The prince, a traveller in Africa / The manservant / The marquis |
tenor | Oscar Mörwald | Helmut Pampuch Helmut Pampuch Helmut Pampuch was a German opera singer.Pampuch, a native of Upper Silesia, was a member, from 1973 to 2005, of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, where he sang numerous parts of the buffo tenor repertoire, for instance Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus... |
||
| The theatre manager | bass | Walter Frank | Jules Bastin Jules Bastin Jules Bastin was a Belgian operatic bass. Born in Brussels, he made his debut in 1960 at La Monnaie, singing Charon in L'Orfeo. He appeared at major opera houses throughout Europe, including the Royal Opera House, La Scala, and the Palais Garnier; he also sang at opera houses in North and South... |
||
| The professor A clown A stagehand |
silent | Le Nain Roberto | |||
| The police commissioner The doctor, Lulu's husband |
spoken | Toni Blankenheim Toni Blankenheim Toni Blankenheim is a German operatic baritone. He notably sang the role of Schigolch in the 1981 recording of Alban Berg's Lulu which won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. He is also on record singing the role of Alberich at Bayreuth. His memorable Beckmesser with the Hamburg State Opera... |
|||
| A fifteen-year-old girl | soubrette Soubrette A soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:... |
Daniele Chlostawa | |||
| Her mother | contralto | Ursula Boese | |||
| A woman artist | mezzo-soprano | Anna Ringart | |||
| A journalist | baritone | Claude Meloni | |||
| A manservant | baritone | Peter Poschl | Pierre-Yves Le Maigat | ||
| Jack the Ripper | baritone | Franz Mazura Franz Mazura Franz Mazura is an Austrian bass-baritone opera singer and actor. He was made a Kammersänger in 1980 and an Honorary Member of the National Theater of Mannheim in 1990... |
|||
| Pianist, stage manager, attendants of the prince, policemen, nurses, wardresses, dancers, party guests, servants, workers |
|||||
Prologue
A circusCircus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
ringmaster introduces the various animals in his menagerie
Menagerie
A menagerie is/was a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to...
. The last is Lulu herself, who is carried on stage and introduced as a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
, tamed by human reason.
Act 1
Scene 1: In a painter's studioThe Painter is painting Lulu's portrait. Dr. Schön, a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
editor, is also present. Dr. Schön's son, Alwa, a musician, arrives. He excuses himself because he has to go to a rehearsal, and he and Dr. Schön leave. Alone with Lulu, the Painter makes heavy passes at her; she rejects him initially but then succumbs. Dr. Goll, an elderly professor of medicine who is Lulu's husband and calls her Nelly, unexpectedly arrives. He breaks the door down, finds Lulu together with the Painter, and dies of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. While the Painter goes to call a doctor, Lulu is left with her husband's corpse and reflects that she is now rich.
Scene 2: In Lulu's apartment
Lulu has married the Painter. He has been very successful since their marriage. She receives several pieces of mail from various admirers (one of them a woman) and a telegram
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
announcing Dr. Schön's engagement, which seems to trouble her. She is visited by Schigolch, a tramp who seems to have featured in her past in some unspecified way and may even be her father Dr. Schön arrives to ask Lulu to stay out of his life from now on, since he is engaged and it would be scandalous for them to see each other socially. A heated discussion ensues which is interrupted by the Painter. Lulu leaves in a huff. Dr. Schön tells the Painter about his affair with Lulu. He reveals that he has known her since she was 12 years old, and informs the Painter about various other sordid details of Lulu's life. The Painter is shocked that Lulu has concealed so much of her past from him and Schön insists he confront his wife about it. The Painter leaves, ostensibly to confront Lulu, but then horrible groans are heard offstage – he has locked himself in the bathroom. Alwa arrives with a message for Schön: revolution has broken out in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Schön's newspaper is trying to cope with the flood of news. Alwa helps Dr. Schön break down the bathroom door, and all are horrified to see the Painter has cut his throat. Dr. Schön hopes the news will cover up the scandal. The police arrive as Lulu comments to Dr. Schön, "You will marry me after all."
Scene 3: In Lulu's dressing room in the theatre
Lulu is now working as a successful dancer. She is sitting in her dressing room with Alwa. The two discuss various things, including an African prince who wants to marry her. Lulu leaves to take the stage. Alwa contemplates writing an opera based on Lulu's life, but as he draws out the scenes he comes to the conclusion that they are too gruesome. Suddenly the alarm goes off and Lulu returns after having "fainted" on stage. In fact, she is refusing to continue because Dr. Schön and his fiancée are in the audience. Dr. Schön comes in to try to persuade her to perform. When the two are left alone, she tells Schön that she is thinking of leaving with the Prince for Africa. Dr. Schön realises that he cannot live without her. He is compelled by Lulu to write a letter to his fiancée breaking off the engagement. Lulu then leaves to continue with the show.
Act 2
Scene 1: In Lulu's houseLulu has now married Dr. Schön, who is full of jealousy over her many admirers. One of them, the lesbian Countess Geschwitz, visits her to invite her to a ball, but leaves in the face of Dr. Schön's disapproval. Lulu tries to convince Schön to go out for a stroll but he refuses, because it is his day at the Stock Exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
. When the two go out, the Countess returns and hides. Dr. Schön also comes back and hides in a different place. Two other admirers, the Acrobat and the Schoolboy, also enter, and all begin to talk to Lulu when she returns. When Alwa is announced, they all hide. Alwa and Lulu begin having lunch and Alwa declares his love for Lulu. Dr.Schön reveals himself, pushes Alwa from the room and begins a long argument with Lulu, during the course of which he discovers all her other admirers. He gives Lulu a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
, and orders her to kill herself, but when the Schoolboy jumps out from under the table he is distracted and she shoots Schön. The police arrive to arrest her for murder despite her pleas to Alwa to let her remain free.
Interlude
The interlude consists of a silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
(accompanied by Berg's palindromic score). In it, we see Lulu's arrest, trial, conviction and imprisonment. Then we see her deliberately contract cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and be transferred to hospital. The Countess Geschwitz visits her, and the older woman gives Lulu her clothes, so Lulu can escape.
Scene 2: The same place as Scene 1, one year later
The Countess Geschwitz, Alwa and the Acrobat are awaiting Schigolch, who will take the Countess to the hospital. She is going to sacrifice her own freedom by taking Lulu's place so that nobody will discover she has escaped until it is too late. The Acrobat says he is going to marry Lulu and move with her to Paris where the two will work in an act together. Schigolch arrives and asks for a breath (he is asthmatic). Before she leaves, Alwa offers the Countess money to cover her expenses but she refuses, and leaves with Schigolch. Alwa and the Acrobat begin a discussion but are interrupted by the Schoolboy who has just come out of prison and has also devised a scheme to free Lulu. Alwa and the Acrobat lie to him by saying that Lulu is dead and he leaves heartbroken. Lulu arrives looking very pale and weak from her illness. The Acrobat is disgusted at seeing her in this state, abandons his plan and goes off saying that he will summon the police instead. But Lulu has been play-acting in order to get rid of him. Schigolch goes to buy train tickets. Left alone with Alwa, Lulu seduces him again, they declare their love for each other and agree to go away together. She asks him "Isn't this the sofa on which your father bled to death?"
Act 3
Scene 1: In Lulu's luxurious house in ParisA grand party is taking place at Lulu's house in Paris. The magnificent performance of Jungfrau Railway shares, in which everyone at the party has put all their money, is the main topic of discussion.Lulu is being blackmailed by the Marquis who wants to sell her to a Cairo brothel. She is still wanted for Dr. Schön's murder in Germany and the Marquis threatens to turn her in if she does not meet his demands. The Acrobat is also blackmailing her. When Schigolch arrives, asking for money, Lulu collapses in despair. They agree to lure the Acrobat to a hotel where Schigolch will murder him. Lulu then convinces the Countess to lure the Acrobat there. Lulu goes off to prepare her escape, as the police are on the way. News arrives that the railway shares have crashed. Everyone is ruined. The party quickly breaks up.Lulu has changed clothes with a young waiter and leaves, dragging Alwa behind her. The police arrive to recapture her and mistake the waiter for Lulu, giving her time to escape.
Scene 2: In Lulu's room in London
Lulu and Alwa are now living with Schigolch in poverty and are on the run. Lulu is working as a prostitute. She arrives with a client, a creepy professor (played by the actor who played Dr. Goll, Lulu's first husband). The Countess Geschwitz then arrives with the portrait of Lulu which she has brought from Paris. Alwa hangs it on the wall. Lulu is disturbed at seeing the portrait and rushes from the room, followed by Geschwitz. In time Lulu returns with another client, the Negro (played by the singer who played the Painter, Lulu's second husband). He is angered at being asked to pay in advance, kills Alwa in a struggle, and leaves. Lulu rushes out in hysterics and Schigolch removes the body. Geschwitz returns and contemplates suicide, but is interrupted by Lulu who returns with a third client, Jack the Ripper (played by singer who played Dr. Schön, Lulu's third husband). Lulu seems drawn to him and eventually offers to give herself to him without payment. They go into the adjoining room. Geschwitz resolves to return to Germany and work for women's rights, but she is interrupted by Lulu's death scream offstage. Jack emerges from the room and stabs Geschwitz as well, then leaves. The Countess declares her eternal love for Lulu and dies.
Instrumentation
The work is scoredOrchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
for 3 flute
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s (all doubling on piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), 3 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s (3rd doubles English horn
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
), 3 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in B-flat (1st and 2nd doubling E-flat clarinet
E-flat clarinet
The E-flat clarinet is a member of the clarinet family. It is usually classed as a soprano clarinet, although some authors describe it as a "sopranino" or even "piccolo" clarinet. Smaller in size and higher in pitch than the more common B clarinet, it is a transposing instrument in E, sounding a...
), bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
in B-flat, alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
in E-flat, 3 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s (3rd doubling contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
), 4 horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
in F, 3 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s in C, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(8 players), timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
.
The onstage jazz band in I iii (which can be drawn from the pit players) consists of: 3 clarinets in Bb; bass clarinet in Bb; alto saxophone in Eb; tenor saxophone in Bb; contrabassoon; 2 "Jazz trumpets" in B; 2 Jazz trumpets in C; 2 Jazz trombones; Sousaphone
Sousaphone
The sousaphone is a type of tuba that is widely employed in marching bands. Designed so that it fits around the body of the musician and is supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried...
; jazz drum set (3 players); banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
; piano; 3 violins with jazz horns
Stroh violin
Stroh violin, Strohviol, or Strohviol, is a trade name for a horn-violin, or violinophone—a violin that amplifies its sound through a metal resonator and metal horns rather than a wooden sound box as on a standard violin. The instrument is named after its designer, John Matthias Augustus Stroh, an...
; contrabass. In III i Cerha's edition uses a smaller onstage ensemble that includes piccolo; flute; 3 clarinets & bass clarinet; ...Contrabassoon...
It is the work that introduced into the orchestra of Western art music the vibraphone, an instrument that was previously solely associated with jazz.
Structure
This mirror-like structure is further emphasised by the film interlude at act 2 at the very centre of the work. The events shown in the film are a miniature version of the mirror structure of the opera as a whole (Lulu enters prison and then leaves again) and the music accompanying the film is an exact palindrome
Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
– it reads the same forwards as backwards. The centre-point of this palindrome is indicated by an arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
played on the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, first rising, then falling (shown here on the top staff
Staff (music)
In standard Western musical notation, the staff, or stave, is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch—or, in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments. Appropriate music symbols, depending upon the intended effect,...
).
The tone rows
Cell z is the basic cell of Lulu and generates TropeTrope (music)
A trope or tropus may be a variety of different things in medieval and modern music.The term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος , "a turn, a change" , related to the root of the verb τρέπειν , "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change"...
I:
Cell z is also one of the basic cells in Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's String Quartet No. 4
String Quartet No. 4 (Bartók)
The String Quartet No. 4 by Béla Bartók was written from July to September, 1927 in Budapest.The work is in five movements:#Allegro#Prestissimo, con sordino#Non troppo lento#Allegretto pizzicato#Allegro molto...
.
Although some of Lulu is freely composed, Berg also makes use of his teacher Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
. Rather than using one tone row
Tone row
In music, a tone row or note row , also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.-History and usage:Tone rows are the basis of...
for the entire work, however, he gives each character his or her own tone row, meaning that the tone rows act rather like the leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s in Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's operas.
this results in the following tone row:
B, F, E, G, F, B, E, D, A, C, C, G
This results in the following tone row:
B, E, G, G, D, F, E, A, B, C, F, C