Naked nuns, live sex and blood: German hardcore opera makes its audience sick

In 1921, the German composer Paul Hindemith wanted to premiere his opera in one act Sancta Susannawhich examines a nunnery’s descent into sexual frenzy at the renowned Stuttgart Opera.

But the outrage over the allegedly blasphemous text, which a critic at the time described as a “desecration of our cultural institutions,” forced the premiere at the Frankfurt Opera to take place the following year.

Now, over a century later, the Stuttgart State Opera has brought to life a radical feminist reinterpretation of Hindemith’s work Santadirected by the avant-garde choreographer Florentina Holzinger.

And so far it has been anything but a typical evening at the opera…

There have only been two performances since the Stuttgart premiere on October 5, but 18 theatergoers reportedly required medical treatment for severe nausea after the performance.

“On Saturday there were eight people and on Sunday ten people who had to be looked after by our visitor service,” said the opera spokesman, Sebastian Ebling, to the Stuttgarter Zeitung. Ebling added that three of those in need of help felt so unwell that a doctor had to be called.

What exactly is so confusing about this opera?

In short, the opera consists of almost three hours of non-stop craziness.

On stage, naked nuns roller-skate on a moving half-pipe, while in the background rises a rock wall made of crucified naked bodies dripping blood. To add to the chaos, there are live piercings, crucifix swallowing acts, unsimulated sex scenes and, for good measure, a dash of spanking.

In one particularly memorable moment, an actress with dwarfism is seen dressed as the Pope and being spun around by a robotic arm, while in another, an actress belts out Eminem tracks while dressed as Jesus (why not?).

To get a taste of the chaos, please watch this trailer.

As you can probably guess, opera is not to everyone’s taste. Santa premiered earlier this year at the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater in Schwerin, where it provoked strong backlash from Catholic leaders.

Salzburg Archbishop Franz Lackner described the show as a “serious insult to the religious feelings and beliefs of believers.”

The opera’s Austrian choreographer, Holzinger, has made a name for herself with previous productions that incorporate elements of pain, nudity and Body horrorAcrobatics, sword swallowers and Japanese bondage artists.

“This is an opera about breaking open the repressed female libido, so we decided to have a lot of fun,” the 38-year-old dancer told The Guardian earlier this year.

Although more than a dozen visitors have reportedly fallen ill, all five remaining performances at the Stuttgart State Opera and two performances at Berlin’s Volksbühne in November are completely sold out.

For those with Tickets And if you still feel brave enough to take part, good luck! We recommend bringing a bucket.