An opera house whose new show reportedly led to people throwing up and fainting during the X-rated performance has hit back at criticism.
The Staatsoper Stuttgart, which is hosting the show Sancta Susanna, played down the reaction to the performance which presents a “radical vision of the Holy Mass” and the life of a nun exploring her sexuality.
The show became the centre of an online storm as media reports emerged saying the explicit lesbian sex, actual blood, and nude roller-skating nuns left people requiring the attention of first aid responders.
READ MORE: Opera-goers throw up and faint at x-rated performance featuring real sex on stage
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Johannes Lachermeier, head of communications at the opera house, said on X: “Just for the record: nobody threw up at the performances.”
(Image: Staatsoper Stuttgart)
Reports indicate a total of 18 people at Stuttgart’s state opera needed medical treatment for severe nausea during two performances over the weekend. A doctor was called for treatment three times.
But the series of incident was played down further by the opera house on X. A tweet on October 10 said that “both evenings were well received” and that reports of first aid meant only that “someone left the auditorium and we gave the person a drink of water.” Further performances are going ahead as planned.
(Image: Staatsoper Stuttgart)
The account also tweeted: “Well, probably nothing on the opera stage (except Holzinger’s performances themselves) is comparable to #StgtSancta. We just wanted to say: We are generally not afraid to bring sensitive topics to the stage.”
Florentina Holzinger, a radical performance artist, is the mastermind behind the bold reinterpretation of the infamous opera. The current adaptation features an all-female troupe portraying nuns who progressively shed their habits in what’s described as a “sensual, poetic and wild” spectacle.
Holzinger, The Guardian reported, is known for “freewheeling performances”, in which previous shows have seen “live sword-swallowing, tattooing, masturbation and action paintings with blood and fresh excrement”.
(Image: Staatsoper Stuttgart)
The acts take surreal turns including a scene where a little person dressed as the Pope gets whirled sky-high by a mechanical arm, while another cast member belts out Eminem tracks clad as Jesus.
In the narrative arc of the opera, Susanna, the main character, explores her sexuality which culminates in her lowering the loincloth of a crucifix-attached Jesus stirring controversy. In one audacious scene, a nude nun engages intimately with the religious symbol.
A spokesperson for the opera also told the Mail Online that the patrons affected were seated in the front row, asserting they would have known “what they are letting themselves in for”.
Sebastian Ebling said, according to The Guardian: “On Saturday we had eight and on Sunday we had 10 people who had to be looked after by our visitor service.”
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