In Stuttgart, 18 spectators had to be evacuated due to very severe nausea during the two performances of the performance Sainta work by the Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger. A doctor was called for treatment in three cases, the opera spokesperson said Sebastian Ebling au Guardian. “On Saturday we had eight people and on Sunday we had ten people who had to be taken care of by our visitors service.”
Holzinger, 38, is known for her wild performances that blur the line between dance theater and vaudeville (absurd theater). Often, her all-female troupe performs partially or even entirely nude, and her previous shows have included – among other things – live sword swallowing, tattooing, masturbation and action painting with real blood and fresh feces.
BDSM, piercings and nausea
Saint was created last May, and is based on the expressionist opera Saint Susanna of Paul Hindemith itself created in the 1920s, having also caused controversy. Hindemith’s original opera tells the story of a young nun who, excited by a story told by one of the older women in the convent, climbs naked to the altar and tears the loincloth from Christ’s torso. An encounter with a large spider leads her to repent and beg the other nuns to wall her up alive.
Holzinger’s 2024 version, which aims to be “feminist”, replaced the original performance with naked nuns, rollerblading on a moving half-pipe at center stage, against a wall of naked bodies crucified with a lesbian priest celebrating mass.
Warnings for spectators
After the presentation of Saint in his native Vienna in June, the bishops of Salzburg and Innsbruck criticized it, saying it was a “disrespectful caricature of the Holy Mass.” The Austrian artist claimed that her opera was designed to explore the parallels between the conservative establishment on the one hand, and BDSM subcultures on the other, rather than simply mocking the church.
On June 30, 2023 in Berlin, the water ballet “Kranetude” features dance, waterfalls and water spirits. It is directed by choreographer Florentina Holzinger.
picture alliance/Getty Images
“We recommend that all spectators read the warnings very carefully so that they know what to expect,” Ebling told the newspaper Stuttgart News. Viewers of this work reserved for adults have been warned in advance of the trigger potential [scènes pouvant déclencher de vives émotions, des chocs, et/ou réveiller des traumatismes, ndlr]notably by the incense, sound volume, explicit sexual acts and sexual violence depicted.
The warnings and testimonies do not seem to have scared theater lovers: the five remaining performances at the Stuttgart Opera, as well as the two November performances in Berlin are now on display sold-out.
