For many years Alban Berg's unfinished 1937 opera—the tale of an amoral seductress who disposes of several husbands and suitors before being killed (along with her lesbian lover) by Jack the Ripper—carried the reputation of being a forbidding exercise in 12-tone serial composition, making performances rare. But once the third act was completed by Friedrich Cerha in 1979, Lulu gained recognition as a modern masterpiece, combining serial method with lush late romanticism, and productions proliferated, including mountings from Zurich in 2002 (VL-9/04), Covent Garden in 2009 (VL-11/10), and the Salzburg Festival in 2010 (VL-5/12). This 2012 production from Brussels' La Monnaie De Munt possesses two great virtues musically—an exact reading of the score by the company orchestra under Paul Daniel, and a spectacular performance in the title role by Barbara Hannigan. But the staging by Krzysztof Warlikowski is odd. Warlikowski emphasizes Lulu's dream of becoming a ballerina, including scenes of her younger self practicing, and adds a number of prolonged dance solos—one at the end of the second act after the music has ceased—often while having Hannigan stand en pointe while singing. She manages, but it's a trick that ultimately doesn't justify the effort. Nor are the set (a hall with escalators, and a backstage screen for projections of Lulu in various states of undress), costumes, or makeup—representing extraordinarily clashing styles—especially convincing. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo, this is an optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Lulu
(2012) 2 discs. 194 min. In German w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.99. Bel Air Classiques (dist. by Naxos of America). Volume 30, Issue 2
Lulu
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