Three-act opera. Libretto by the composer based on Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora by Frank Wedekind. Music by Alban Berg.

Unfinished two-act version first performed on 2 June 1937 at the Stadttheater in Zurich. First performance in Spain at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on 1 February 1969. First performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu of the three-act version completed by Friedrich Cerha on 6 April 1987.

Lulu ranks among the most important and highly-regarded operas of the 20th century.

The main character inhabits a dream-like, stifling world. All the men she encounters are subjugated by her beauty and charm and meet with tragic ends. Her own death, at the hands of Jack the Ripper, is equally violent. Though Lulu belongs to the literary and operatic tradition of immoral, ambitious female characters, she has several differential traits: she is more passive and amoral than most, and she finishes up a victim of the society that has reduced her to an object of eroticism.

The music, which loosely follows the twelve-tone technique, is entrancingly beautiful and lyrical but also reflects the humorous aspects of the complex plot.

Some people may find the theme of the opera and Olivier Py’s production offensive. This show is not recommended for minors.