What's the German word for a stomach-turning, explicit opera performance filled with real and fake blood and unsimulated sex that leaves attendees trading an encore for health exams?
A valid option is "Sancta," choreographer Florentina Holzinger's new rendition of the one-act opera "Sancta Susanna" composed by Paul Hindemith in 1921.
Following two weekend performances of the adults-only show in Vienna, 18 attendees required medical attention for severe nausea after watching the show.
"On Saturday we had eight and on Sunday we had 10 people who had to be looked after by our visitor service," the opera's spokesperson, Sebastian Ebling told the Guardian, adding that a doctor was called to attend to three of the 18 sickened theatergoers.
Although attendees were equipped with a list of warnings for potential triggers ahead of the performance, including incense, loud noises, explicit sexual acts, and sexual violence, Ebling offered another recommendation for prospective viewers.
"If you have questions, speak to the visitor service," he told the Guardian. "And when in doubt during the performance, it might help to avert your gaze."
The original opera tells the story of a young nun's sexual awakening. Holzinger's version replaces musical numbers with naked nuns rollerblading on stage, a climbing wall of crucified naked bodies, and a lesbian priest leading mass, leading bishops to criticize the show for its "disrespectful caricature of the holy mass," the Guardian reported.
Holzinger defended her work by imparting that it's more about dissecting the parallels between conservative institutions and kink communities and BDSM subcultures.
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