Vienna’s mysterious relationship with Berg’s unfinished opera, Lulu, enjoys an interesting history with its first staging in 1962 (a quarter of a century after its Zürich world premiere) - not in either of the city’s two main opera houses, but at the Theater an der Wien as part of the Vienna Festival. 

1968 saw the first State Opera production followed by the premiere Austrian showing in 1983 of the 3-act version in which Friedrich Cerha had undertaken the task of completing a final act based upon Berg’s notes. 

However, the State Opera’s previous management chose in the year 2000 to revert to Berg’s unfinished work for this current production by Willy Decker, with sets by Wolfgang Gussmann and costumes by Susana Mendoza.

And now the preference has fallen again to the Cerha, bringing with it the return of the same millennium production team to complete the full version for this revival.

Essentially a single-set concept, the lower stage level serves for most of the action while a cut-out of the rear downstage wall creates a kind of elevated theatre gallery to serve as an observation deck for a significant and virtually omnipresent male group, who act or react rather like a silent Greek chorus. 

In the title role, Agneta Eichenholz presents a lithe, slinky, figure with red pageboy hair and sufficient physical dexterity to straddle or strut along a ladder’s frame with sensual elegance - while yet exuding a touch of schoolgirl flippancy and innocence. Her soprano is light, soft-grained, and with an occasional quiver to the vibrato which well lends itself to the part. Moments of minor duress in extreme altitudes and under pressure are insignificant, in context. In all, a more reserved and less flamboyant Lulu than some - but a solidly-rounded performance to match Decker’s slick reading.

Gräfin Geschwitz is an interesting option for Angela Denoke at this stage of her career, with her instrument sounding pleasingly steady and voluminous on this occasion. Again like the title role, the figure is cut in rather sober lines but played, nevertheless, with intensity and to good effect.

Dr. Schön takes particularly violent revenge in Act III when he, alias Jack the Ripper, is joined by the band of dark-suited cronies who have roamed the gallery to now determine - en masse - Lulu’s bitter demise. In this reading Schön and Jack fuse to embody an alter ego figure to these anonymous beings in both attire and demeanour. A touch white-toned and lacking vocal substance in the role’s lower scoring, Bo Skovhus’ characters were somewhat bland in individuality - be it by desire or default - while unquestionably earning full marks for intensity and engagement.

In contrast, Jörg Schneider created a colourful and vocally imposing Artist (and later, Negro) - with his Act I, scene 2 exchange with Dr. Schön remaining one of the evening’s highlights. 

Oozing personality (both vocally and physically) from his opening entrance, Franz Grundheber scored a memorable - if unusually agreeable - Schigolch (not least for his exceptional diction), while Wolfgang Bankl  (An Animal Tamer and Athlete) too made his mark with his imposing stage presence and booming bass.

On this evening Charles Workman stepped-in at short notice - giving a confident and engaging role debut in the house as Alwa - sensitive in interaction and highly-cultivated in his vocalising. 

The Vienna State Opera Orchestra appeared to relish the challenges of Berg’s score with the instrumental interludes stealing some of the evening’s limelight in quite superb playing. At times during the action, some of the soloists (particularly the supports in Act 3) were quite unintelligible - if not inaudible - whereby the score and staging should likely be held as responsible as Ingo Metzmacher, who is not only an aficionado in post fin-de-siècle repertoire but familiar for his masterful pit-to-stage balance.

A non-capacity house which became further depleted after the second interval rather opens Pandora’s box in asking the question, “Why?” - almost half a century after Lulu’s original State Opera premiere.