Florentina Holzingerová is known for her rather unconventional performances. The women in them often appear at least partially naked, her previous pieces also featured sword swallowing, tattoos, masturbation or painting with blood or feces.
“For me, good technique does not only mean that someone can dance perfectly, but also that they can urinate on command,” the Austrian choreographer previously described her approach to artistic creation to The Guardian newspaper.
But the rendition of the play Sancta was too much for the eighteen visitors of the two Stuttgart performances. According to information from the Guardian, this production contains real sex scenes, piercings performed directly on stage, or a significant amount of artificial blood, as well as real blood. It is therefore not surprising that some viewers were affected by severe nausea.
The relationship between celibacy and lust
“We had eight people here on Saturday and ten people on Sunday, who had to be taken care of by our visitor service,” said opera spokesman Sebastian Ebling, adding that a doctor was called in for treatment in three cases.
The conception of the thirty-eight-year-old Holzinger is based on the original play Sancta Sussana by the German author Paul Hindermith, which itself aroused considerable emotions and discussions at the beginning of the twenties of the last century. It discusses the relationship between celibacy and lust in the Christian world. The main character, the nun Susanna, lets herself be overcome by erotic images, tears off the loin cloth from the crucified Christ and asks to be walled up alive as a punishment.
Holzingerová already said some time ago that her performance is not so much to criticize the church as to examine the parallels between a very conservative institution and groups or communities of various sexual minorities. She stated this as a reaction to the statement of the bishops of Innsbruck and Salzburg, who described the earlier presentation in Vienna as a disrespectful caricature of the church.
It will help to distract
The Stuttgart State Opera itself is also on its side, which, after the incidents there, emphasized that the audience should think carefully about visiting the performance, which is understandably only accessible to adults, and study the warnings that the opera gives in order to know what they can to expect on stage.
“If you have any questions, please contact the visitor service. And if you’re not sure during the performance, it might help to look away,” added Sebastian Ebling.
However, according to The Guardian newspaper, the audience’s health problems did not affect the public’s perception of this very novel piece. The next five planned performances in Stuttgart, as well as two more in Berlin, have been completely sold out since then.
