Berg: Lulu

This production avoids the sensationalism and vulgarity of some of the others I've seen. It's stripped down: a bare wall behind the singers, a chair when it's needed, few costume changes. So we are concentrating on the music, and Antonio Pappano's conducting is very rich and satisfying; you get the feeling of legato even when there is none strictly speaking. Agneta Eichenholz and Jennifer Larmore make a great pair as Lulu and Geschwitz, and Michael Volle is even better as Schon than he was in Salzburg in 2010. Eichenholz has a rapport with the viewer that I haven't seen in the other Lulus; that sly smile and the hysteria kept under control except at the brutal climax. I can recommend this Royal Opera production.