Editing Lulu (opera) (section)

===Act 2===
''Scene 1: In Lulu's house, a magnificent German Renaissance style room with a gallery and staircase. A folding Chinese screen in front of the fireplace. Again, Lulu's portrait can be seen, this time on an easel. Lulu is in an armchair in a morning gown, Countess Geschwitz on an ottoman, in masculine clothes, her face veiled. Dr. Schön is standing.''

Countess Geschwitz, an admirer of Lulu, who is now married to Schön, is visiting her to invite her to a ball. She has brought flowers and, complimenting her on her portrait, wishes to paint her herself. Schön is clearly uncomfortable and Lulu shows Geschwitz out. Schön, left alone, appears disturbed and jealous and speaks of madness, producing a [[revolver]], ''Der Irrsinn hat sich meiner Vernunft schon bemächtigt'' (Madness has conquered my reason already). On her return Lulu tries to convince Schön to take the afternoon off and go for a drive with her (''cavatina'': ''Könntest Du Dich für heute Nachmittag nicht freimachen?''; Can't you make this afternoon free?), but he points out that he is due at the stock exchange. Lulu starts to lavish affection on Schön, and they go into the bedroom, whereupon Geschwitz reenters the house and hides behind the screen. Schigolch and two other admirers, the athlete, who is carrying the struggling schoolboy (played by a woman, ''i.e.'' a [[Travesti (theatre)|travesti]] role), all enter. Schigolch says that he also lives in the house and that they have paid him to leave them with Lulu, who then reappears. She is dressed for the ball, décolleté with orchids between her breasts. She leans in to the schoolboy, urging him to smell the flowers. As she leaves they begin to discuss the Prince, who has gone abroad (''canon'': ''Er hat sie nämlich ursprünglich heiraten wollen''; She was the one he originally wanted to marry) and Schigolch says that he too wishes to marry Lulu, ''Wer hat sie nicht ursprünglich heiraten wollen!'' (Who has not always wanted to marry her!), a sentiment with which they all agree, as he explains that Lulu is not his daughter.

When Lulu returns, she also agrees that she never had a father. They discuss Schön, who has left for the exchange, and what Lulu calls his ''Verfolgungswahn'' (paranoia), but a servant announces his return and the athlete and schoolboy also hide while Schigolch starts to leave. However, it is Alwa who enters, not his father, and she orders refreshments as they sit and start to talk and flirt. Schön enters unnoticed, sees his son, and he too hides. Their conversation becomes more intense and Alwa declares his love for Lulu, ''Liebst Du mich Mignon?'' (Do you love me, Mignon?), burying his head in her lap. At this point, Lulu confesses to Alwa that she poisoned his mother. Meanwhile, unnoticed by the couple, Schön sees the athlete and draws his revolver, but the athlete indicates it is Alwa he should kill, and hides again. Lulu notices them and announces his presence.

Schön reveals himself, once again announcing revolution in Paris, newspaper in hand, and drags Alwa away. The athlete briefly reappears, pursued by Schön, revolver in hand. Schön, believing the athlete escaped, begins to harangue Lulu (''aria in five [[strophe]]s'': ''Du Kreatur, die mich durch den Strassenkot zum Martertode schleift!''; You wretch, that drags me through the faeces in the streets to martyrdom!), handing the revolver to Lulu, who appears unperturbed, and implying she should kill herself before he kills Alwa. She points the revolver at him, but instead she fires at the ceiling. Increasingly agitated, Schön seizes the revolver and begins to search the house for Lulu's lovers, but finds only Geschwitz, whom he locks in another room. Again he gives Lulu the gun, implying her suicide will save his reputation from being considered a cuckold, ''meine Stirn zu verzieren'' (my head to decorate) – i.e. with horns. Lulu sings the ''Lied der Lulu'' (''Wenn sich die Menschen um meinetwillen umgebracht haben''; When men have killed for my sake) in which she asks for a divorce, saying she can only be ''als was ich bin'' (what I am).{{efn|Dedicated by the composer to [[Anton Webern|Webern]]}} Schön only replies that he will murder her and make it look like suicide, forcing her to her knees and pointing the gun at her while holding it in her hand (''5th strophe'': ''Nieder, Mörderin! In die Knie!''; Get down, murderess, on your knees!). While Schön is momentarily distracted by the schoolboy's sudden appearance, Lulu empties the remaining five rounds into him. But he is still alive, and realises he has yet another 'rival', ''Und – da – ist – noch – einer!'' (And – there – is – another!). He calls for his son, who reappears, while Lulu appears remorseful, and then he dies. Lulu goes to leave but Alwa bars her way. She begs him not to give her up (''arietta'': ''Du kannst mich nicht dem Gericht ausliefern!''; You cannot deliver me up to the Law!), which he refuses to do despite her offers to be his for the rest of her life, ''Ich will Dir treu sein mein Leben lang'' (I will be faithful to you my whole life long). Once again, a doorbell announces the arrival of the police.

''Interlude in the form of a [[silent film]]. Both film and the musical accompaniment are in the form of a [[palindrome]].<ref name="Lulu">{{Cite web|title=Lulu|url=https://www.bl.uk/works/lulu|access-date=2021-08-07|website=[[British Library]]|language=en|archive-date=2021-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925030200/https://www.bl.uk/works/lulu|url-status=dead}}</ref> The film depicts four main events, pivoting on Lulu's one year in prison, and four following her imprisonment, forming the palindrome. The first sequence shows the arrest, detention, trial and the prison door closing. The second sequence shows the reverse with the prison door opening, the medical assessment, the isolation ward in hospital, and her escape. In each mirror event the number of people involved is the same, for example three people arrest her and three liberate her. As the palindrome progresses, Lulu loses hope in detention, is tried and transferred to prison, where she becomes resigned to her fate. There hope returns as she contracts cholera and after a further "trial" by doctors is transferred to hospital where hope grows as Geschwitz visits her, they change clothes, and Lulu escapes disguised as the other woman. During the palindrome many details and symbols, before and after prison, match each other, including Lulu's portrait, a recurring visual [[Motif (visual arts)|motif]] throughout the opera.''

''Scene 2: The same place as scene 1, one year later, an air of neglect, daylight has been shut out. The portrait is now leaning against the fireplace, facing away from the audience,''

Geschwitz, Alwa and the athlete are anxiously awaiting Schigolch and discussing the escape plan. The athlete is dressed as Alwa's footman and is planning to marry Lulu and take her to Paris as an acrobat. Geschwitz appears frail and will take Lulu's place in hospital. She is funding the escape, but refuses Alwa's offer of financial help. She is going to sacrifice her own freedom by taking Lulu's place so that nobody will discover she has escaped until it is too late. When Schigolch arrives, he and Geschwitz depart for the hospital, while the other two men discuss their plans. Alwa has sold the newspaper and written a melodrama for Lulu to star in. They begin to argue over money but are interrupted by the schoolboy (''chamber music II'', ''Mit wem habe ich''; With whom have I), who has just broken out of prison and devised a scheme to free Lulu. Alwa and the athlete lie to him that Lulu is dead, showing him a newspaper article about her illness, then throw him out. Schigolch arrives with Lulu (''melodrama'': ''Hü, kleine Lulu: – wir müssen heut' noch über die Grenze''; Well, little Lulu: we must cross the border today), looking very pale and weak from her illness. The athlete is disgusted at seeing her in this state, abandons his plan and goes off saying that he will summon the police instead. Schigolch goes to buy train tickets. As soon as he has gone, Lulu, who has been acting the part of the invalid, makes an instant recovery. Now alone with Alwa, she explains the plot in detail. Geschwitz went to Hamburg to nurse cholera patients and deliberately infected both herself and Lulu with contaminated clothing so that they were both placed in an isolation ward together. After Geschwitz was discharged, she returned to visit Lulu and they changed places (''melodrama'': ''Jetzt liegt sie dort drüben als die Mörderin des Doktor Schön''; Now she lies there as the murderer of Dr. Schön), while Lulu feigned illness to get rid of the athlete. Now alone with Alwa, the portrait is returned to the easel and Lulu seduces the willing Alwa once again. They declare their love for each other in a second love duet, ''uns sehen, so oft wir wollen'' (to see each other as often as we want) reaching its climax with Alwa's hymn to Lulu (''hymne'': ''Durch dieses Kleid empfinde ich Deinen Wuchs wie Musik''; Through this dress I feel your body like music), and make plans to go away together. At the end of the duet and scene she asks him, ''Ist das noch der Diwan, – auf dem sich – dein Vater – verblutet hat?'' (Isn't this the sofa on which your father bled to death?).