Erwartung is a 30-minute monodrama composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1909. It was written for a single soprano and takes the form of a musical monologue depicting a woman's stream-of-consciousness following a traumatic experience. The piece was groundbreaking for its free atonal style and orchestration of over 100 players. It received its premiere in Prague in 1924 and explores psychoanalytic themes through the character's fragmented speech and shifting emotions. The monodrama broke new ground compositionally and reflected the emerging field of psychoanalysis in the early 20th century.