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Catalog  Lulu thumbnail image  Lulu (Apr. 21, 2001)  Composer:
Alban Berg Librettist: Alban Berg  Levine; Schäfer, Schwarz,
Kuebler, Forbis, Courtney  Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and
Chorus  Approximate running time: 3 hrs. 3 min.  From "James
Levine: Celebrating 40 Years at the Met" CD box set. Christine
Schäfer sings the title role in Berg’s twelve-tone
masterpiece—the femme fatale who so enthralls admirers both male
and female that they are powerless to halt their own
destruction. Among them are Dr. Schön (James Courtney) and his
son Alwa (David Kuebler), the Countess Geschwitz (Hanna
Schwarz), the Painter (Clifton Forbes), two princes, an acrobat,
and a schoolboy. But the magnetic Lulu is the emotional vortex
around which everything revolves—all the way through her own
downward spiral, until she is brutally murdered by Jack the
Ripper. Maestro James Levine brings unparalleled insight and
unexpected lyricism to the score, leading a powerful perfo