Opera Scotland

Lulu 1966Stuttgart State Opera

Read more about the opera Lulu

What was then, and is still, unique about this 1966 Festival visit was the fact that not only did the Stuttgart company bring stagings of The Magic Flute and Lohengrin, but they brought both Berg's operas,  with Wozzeck under the inspiring baton of Carlos Kleiber.

This production of Lulu by Wieland Wagner had only opened in Stuttgart a few months before it came to Edinburgh. The director's death scarcely a month after the festival ended is only one element that gave it a certain iconic status. Silja's interpretation of Lulu was held to be very special indeed, and she became the leading performer of the role for several years. While it would be an exaggeration to say the opera is now commonplace, it was then seen to be an extremely difficult work, though acknowledged as a masterpiece, even when, as here, it could only be performed in its incomplete state.

Cast details are from a programme in our collection.