18 audience members require medical treatment at sex opera in Germany
18 audience members required medical treatment for nausea after attending an explicitly sexual opera in Stuttgart, Germany.
The show in question is titled, Sancta. It has been created by the notable Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger, and marks her first step into the world of opera. The show, which is based on Paul Hindemith’s expressionist opera Sancta Susanna from the 1920s, features live piercings, unsimulated sex scenes, as well as large amounts of real blood.
Sancta first premiered at the Mecklenburg State Theatre in Schwerin back in May but has since moved to Stuttgart. The story centres around a nun who is forced to deal with the parts of her life that she had repressed. Holzinger’s adaptation reportedly features nuns roller skating while naked, and also a number of crucified naked bodies.
Due to the graphic nature of the production, only adults are allowed to watch Sancta. Furthermore, those attending the show are also given a series of trigger warnings before it begins.
Nevertheless, many audience members needed medical assistance following performances on October 5th and 6th. In a statement, the opera’s spokesperson, Sebastian Ebling, said: “On Saturday we had eight and on Sunday we had 10 people who had to be looked after by our visitor service.”
Additionally, Ebling told the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper that audience members need to do their research before attending, stating, “We recommend that all audience members once again very carefully read the warnings so they know what to expect.”
Ebling also remarked: “If you have questions, speak to the visitor service. And when in doubt during the performance, it might help to avert your gaze.”
Complaints have also come in from the city dean for the Stuttgart catholic church, Christian Hermes, who claims to have received “really worrying feedback” about the production since its launch on October 5th. Hermes also described Sancta to KNA as featuring “naive, not to say cheesy, sexual-spiritual dreams of redemption”.
Hermes also said that “employees and visitors are brutally led to and beyond the limits of what is aesthetically and psychologically tolerable”, and claimed Sancta is having detrimental impact on the mental healt of those in attendance.
However, somewhat surprisingly, Hermes has nothing but admiration for Holzinger from an artistic perspective, stating he holds “respect for the artistic radicalism” she expresses.
Additionally, last week, Hermes shared an image to Instagram alongside Holzinger. In the caption, he wrote: “Holzinger’s performance is scandalous for some. But isn’t there a scandal where religion turns into violence, where bodies and souls are punished in the madness of perfection, where power and charisma are abused.”
Despite the medical assistance required by audience members, Sancta is set to continue its residency in Stuttgart.
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