The completed three-act version of Alban Berg’s opera Lulu premiered in 1979.
Berg died in 1935, leaving Lulu incomplete. He had finished the first two acts and much of the musical material for the final act, but the opera could not initially be staged in the form he intended. Friedrich Cerha later completed the orchestration and reconstruction using Berg’s surviving sketches.
The first two acts were performed in 1937 at the Zurich Opera. The fully completed three-act version eventually premiered at the Paris Opera in 1979, conducted by Pierre Boulez and staged by Patrice Chéreau.
This timeline is often confused because 1937 is a genuine Lulu premiere date. It refers to the first performance of the two-act version, whereas 1979 marks the premiere of the completed three-act edition.