Audiences rushing to the first two performances of the “blasphemous” opera Sancta at the Stuttgart State Opera last weekend could not believe what they were going through.
18 of them even experienced severe symptoms of nausea. The controversial performance, created by choreographer and director Florentina Holzinger and featuring live lesbian sex, and large amounts of fake and real blood, seems to have taken… some of the audiences who came to enjoy it by surprise.
“On Saturday we had eight people and on Sunday 10 who needed help from our staff“said opera spokesman Sebastian Embling, according to the Guardian. On three occasions, spectators' nausea symptoms were so severe that a doctor had to be called to ensure there were no more serious problems.
Holzinger is known for her wild performances, which combine elements of dance theater and vaudeville, and typically feature an all-female cast that is partially or fully nude.
In the past, the 38-year-old choreographer has demonstrated shocking live sword swallowing, tattoos, masturbation, and “painting” on stage with blood and fresh excrement. “Good dance technique for me is not only the ability to perform a perfect tendu (ballet movement), but also the ability to urinate on demand.”Holzinger told the Guardian earlier this year.
The premiere of the opera Sancta, in which Holzinger tries his hand at opera for the first time, took place last May at the Mecklenburg State Theater. It is based on the “expressionist” opera Sancta Susanna, written in 1921 by the German musician Paul Hindemith, which caused scandal and rejection among the public of that time, as it was considered extremely blasphemous.
Hindemith's original opera tells the story of a young nun who experiences intense internal conflict when her repressed sexual desires are awakened in her as she prays before a statue of the crucified Christ.
Initially, the premiere was to take place at the Stuttgart State Opera in 1921, but due to protests over its “blasphemous” content it was first presented to the public in 1922.
The version presented this year in Stuttgart, to much public acclaim and international press coverage, features naked tubing nuns center stage, a wall of criss-crossed naked bodies and a lesbian nun.
Last June, Holzinger presented the opera Sancta in her home city of Vienna, angering the Austrian bishops of Salzburg and Innsbruck, who called the performance “an irreverent caricature of the Mass.”
The Austrian artist, in turn, explained that the purpose of her opera is not to ridicule the church, but to explore parallels between the conservative institution, BDSM communities and other sexual subcultures.
Reports of severe nausea and shock among spectators do not appear to have harmed Sancta commercially, however tickets have been sold not only for the 5 remaining performances in Stuttgart, but also for the performances in the Berlin theater, where the play will be shown in November.
More Stories
Sophia Loren's son got engaged to a Georgian woman
The historic Schliemann-Melas mansion in Athens is being transformed into a 5-star hotel
NASA: “In a few weeks the existence of aliens will be announced”!