Lulu

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Lulu

opera by Berg

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June 30, 2026

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Lulu is an opera by Austrian composer Alban Berg, based on the character of Lulu from German dramatist Frank Wedekind's plays Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box. The opera, completed in 1937, is known for its complex musical structure, employing atonal and 12-tone techniques while retaining elements of late Romanticism.12

Lulu is depicted as an amoral femme fatale, a central figure in Wedekind's dramatic works. Berg's opera explores this character and thematic material, creating a work of significant psychological and dramatic impact. The opera's third act was left incomplete by Berg at his death and was later finished by Friedrich Cerha.12

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Lulu
…Wedekind’s plays in his opera Lulu (1937).
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…Wedekind’s plays in his opera Lulu (1937).
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Alban Berg
…central figure for his opera Lulu. This work engaged him, with minor interruptions, for the next seven years, and the orchestration of its third act remained incomplete at his death (it was completed by the Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha and given its premiere in Paris in 1979). Musically complex and…
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…central figure for his opera Lulu. This work engaged him, with minor interruptions, for the next seven years, and the orchestration of its third act remained incomplete at his death (it was completed by the Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha and given its premiere in Paris in 1979). Musically complex and…
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Expressionism
Expressionism in other arts
>Lulu, which was not performed in its entirety until 1979.
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>Lulu, which was not performed in its entirety until 1979.
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opera
Later opera in Germany and Austria
…Georg Büchner’s play Woyzeck) and Lulu (1937; libretto by the composer, after Frank Wedekind’s plays Erdgeist [1895; “Earth Spirit”] and Die Büchse der Pandora [1904; “Pandora’s Box”])—are among the most powerful, effective music dramas of the 20th century. An outstanding example of Expressionist opera, Wozzeck elaborates the melodrama of a…
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…Georg Büchner’s play Woyzeck) and Lulu (1937; libretto by the composer, after Frank Wedekind’s plays Erdgeist [1895; “Earth Spirit”] and Die Büchse der Pandora [1904; “Pandora’s Box”])—are among the most powerful, effective music dramas of the 20th century. An outstanding example of Expressionist opera, Wozzeck elaborates the melodrama of a…
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Frank Wedekind
tragedies inspired Alban Berg’s opera Lulu. The character of Lulu is most identified with actress Louise Brooks, who portrayed her in G.W. Pabst’s masterful silent film version of Die Büchse der Pandora (1929).
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tragedies inspired Alban Berg’s opera Lulu. The character of Lulu is most identified with actress Louise Brooks, who portrayed her in G.W. Pabst’s masterful silent film version of Die Büchse der Pandora (1929).
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serial murder
History
…the basis of the opera Lulu (1937), by Alban Berg.
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…the basis of the opera Lulu (1937), by Alban Berg.
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