University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Music Music 2019 REMAKING THE ICONIC LULU: TRANSFORMATIONS OF CHARACTER, CONTEXT, AND MUSIC Jennifer Tullmann University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3381-0689 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2019.210 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Tullmann, Jennifer, "REMAKING THE ICONIC LULU: TRANSFORMATIONS OF CHARACTER, CONTEXT, AND MUSIC" (2019). Theses and Dissertations--Music. 140. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/music_etds/140 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Music at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Music by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Jennifer Tullmann, Student Dr. Diana R. Hallman, Major Professor Dr. Michael Baker, Director of Graduate Studies REMAKING THE ICONIC LULU: TRANSFORMATIONS OF CHARACTER, CONTEXT, AND MUSIC ________________________________________ DISSERTATION ________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky By Jennifer Tullmann Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Diana R. Hallman, Associate Professor of Musicology Lexington, Kentucky 2019 Copyright © Jennifer Tullmann 2019 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3381-0689 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION REMAKING THE ICONIC LULU: TRANSFORMATIONS OF CHARACTER, CONTEXT, AND MUSIC Using Alban Berg’s opera Lulu as a case study, this dissertation explores the fluid nature of cultural artifacts as they are reborn within new socio-cultural contexts. By examining several Lulu productions, this inquiry seeks to understand the changes of meaning that have occurred through the transformation of canonic works in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. Central to this project is the shifting nature of the character of Lulu, not only in Berg’s opera, but also in various artistic genres that preceded and affected his own conceptions, as well as her appearances in selected productions. This study contrasts modern Lulu productions with the composer’s intentions for the opera, using Berg’s operatic text as a basis for comparison. These assessments will be made through a semiotic analysis of various staging elements, musical and textual analysis of archival materials, and consideration of past Lulu scholarship. Relevant features of the political, cultural, and social climate of each production are also be investigated. Two Werktreue productions are examined: the Austrian première of Lulu at the Theatre an der Wien (1962) and the Metropolitan Opera staging by John Dexter (1977). Several Regietheater productions are also studied, including the three-act 1979 première at the Paris Opera—complete with Friedrich Cerha’s third act—as well as stagings at the Glyndebourne Festival, Opernhaus Zürich, the Royal Opera House, the Theater Basel, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Although much scholarship has been written on Lulu, directors have implemented some of the most radical changes to the opera. Building on Lydia Goehr’s definition of the work-concept in The Imaginary Museum of Historical Works, this project examines the role of these radically altered stagings as challenges to the work-concept of Lulu. In order to assess the portrayal of Lulu in the above-listed productions, this dissertation investigates the origins of her character, tracing the genesis of Lulu and the numerous artists who molded her, including Félicien Champsaur, Frank Wedekind, Leopold Jessner, and G. W. Pabst. Finally, this dissertation considers a work that goes beyond modifications of orchestration, setting, and staging in Regietheater productions. Olga Neuwirth’s opera, American Lulu, represents the ultimate authorial challenge, functioning as both an adaptation of Berg’s text and as a newly composed work. This inquiry explores the transformed mise en scène and re-imagined characters of American Lulu, investigating Neuwirth’s politicized changes and the effect that these alterations have on the story of Lulu. In addition to analyzing her score and libretto, this study examines the performance and depiction of race and sexuality in two American Lulu productions, at the Komische Oper Berlin and the Young Vic in London. Several Lulu performances discussed in this study explore an area which, even as recently as the publication of Roger Parker’s Remaking the Song, was called “untouched”: the alteration of the operatic text itself.1 Whether these updated works and radical stagings are considered a passing trend or true innovations, the effect of staging on operagoers is undeniable. Like the shifting interpretations of the iconic character herself, the complex history of Lulu reflects the development of canonic works over time, as they are altered, transformed, and reborn in new environments. KEYWORDS: Berg, Lulu, staging, Wedekind, Neuwirth, work-concept Jennifer Tullmann 03/14/2019 Date 1 Roger Parker, Remaking the Song: Operatic Visions and Revisions from Handel to Berio (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006): 5. REMAKING THE ICONIC LULU: TRANSFORMATIONS OF CHARACTER, CONTEXT, AND MUSIC By Jennifer Tullmann Dr. Diana R. Hallman Director of Dissertation Dr. Michael Baker Director of Graduate Studies 03/14/2019 Date DEDICATION To my parents, Dennis and Karen, for their limitless support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people that I wish to acknowledge for their contributions to this dissertation. I would like to start by thanking the director of the Metropolitan Opera Archives, John Pennino, for aiding my research, giving me opera tickets, and for reminding me to take an occasional break. I am grateful to the creative team behind the American Lulu première at the Komische Oper Berlin and would like to recognize the assistance of Olga Neuwirth, Johanna Wall, and Marisol Montalvo. Perusal materials provided by the Young Vic Theatre on their American Lulu production were greatly appreciated. I am especially grateful to the members of my committee, Dr. Diana Hallman, Dr. Jonathan Glixon, Dr. Lance Brunner, Dr. Michael Baker, Dr. Susan Bordo, and Dr. Alice Christ. This dissertation would not have been possible without the continued support of my professor and mentor, Dr. Diana Hallman. Thank you for your high standards, and for your patience with my French pronunciation. I want to thank Michael Ferguson for assisting me with formatting, editing, and all things technological, so that I could spend my time focusing on Lulu. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to my entire family for their unending encouragement, and to my sister, Dr. Katherine Tullmann, for her excellent advice. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF A CANONIC OPERA AND AN ICONIC CHARACTER: BERG’S LULU AND LULU .............................1 1.1 Description and Goals of Project ................................................................................1 1.2 The Research Question ...................................................................................................9 1.3 Methodology and Primary Sources ........................................................................ 11 1.4 Limitations of Study ...................................................................................................... 13 1.5 Organization .....................................................................................................................