Lulu

An opera by Alban Berg and directed and designed by William Kentridge. The opera tells the story of a young woman known as Lulu, who follows a downward spiral from a well-kept mistress in Vienna to a street prostitute in London, while being both a victim and a purveyor of destruction. Joanna Dudley with Kentridge created an original solo silent character  which is on stage for the entirety of the opera. Joanna's character is both Lulu's alter ego and also embodies a more symbolic spirit that bridges the world between  the opera singers on stage  and the ink drawn characters of Kentridge's animation projected onstage. Joanna's character, unlike Lulu who dies at the end of the opera, survives and can be seen as both a symbol of death and destruction as well as the primal power of a feminine force. 

This production of Lulu was premiered at the Dutch National Opera and played at the Metropolitan Opera New York and the English National Opera, London..