In 1935 Alban Berg left Lulu without the third act. In 1979, Friedrich Cerha was allowed to construct a “complete” version based on Berg's sketches, which until now was the only way to experience the piece in its entirety. The rights to Berg's music have been free since 2005 and the composer Olga Neuwirth decided to take a new female look at the “mythical female figure”. In order to give the events more socio-political relevance, they relocated Lulu's fate to America in the 1950s and 1970s. Neuwirth's Lulu is black. Racial discrimination is added to the issue of discrimination against women.
In 1950s New Orleans, Dr. Bloom took the beautiful young black Lulu out of the gutter and made him his lover. However, he does not want to confess to her and marries her to a professor. When she cheats on him with a photographer, the professor dies of a stroke. The subsequent marriage with the photographer also ends fatally for the husband: he shoots himself when he sees through the relationship between Lulu and Bloom. Then Lulu succeeds in marrying Bloom, because she only thinks she really loves him, but she cheats on him too. In the ensuing argument, she shoots Bloom and has to go to jail.
Women also fall for Lulu's charm: the singer Eleanor loves her and frees Lulu from prison at great personal sacrifice. Lulu flees to New York with Bloom's son Jimmy. There she worked successfully as a luxury call girl until the 1970s, but all emotions died in her. When Eleanor also leaves, Lulu sees herself at the mercy of the consequences of her job.
