Volume 24, Number 8 · May 12, 1977
'Lulu' at the Met
By Robert Craft
Lulu
by Alban Berg, conducted by James Levine, directed by John Dexter
at the Metropolitan Opera, New York
The Metropolitan Opera performance of Alban Berg's Lulu—the available two-thirds of it, that is—has been widely acclaimed, and the full houses and cheers, in contrast to the poor reception at the Met of Berg's greater opera, Wozzeck, were largely due to the superiority of the production. Paradoxically, Wozzeck, with its economy of words, simple-to-follow plot, and cultural-verbal-musical integrity that translation destroys, was given in English, while Lulu, verbose, complicated, containing stretches of spoken dialogue, was presented in the original German. But the language barrier proved to be an advantage for Lulu, since few in the audience seemed to understand the intricate absurdities of the story, or to notice when words and actions were at variance. It must also be said that to offer a literal translation of the opera would be hazardous, as when Alwa rhapsodizes over Lulu's 'swelling calves.' (Is there a doctor in the house?)
Review, 4116 words
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