Sancta: Opera of naked nuns, live sex, mutilation and piercings that caused viewers nausea will be staged again in Stuttgart

The controversial German opera "Sancta" by Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger, 38, caused 18 audience members in Stuttgart to require medical assistance last month.

It followed after they watched a radical feminist performance featuring live piercings, explicit sexual acts, rollerblading nuns, and real blood. There is also a torture scene in which a naked dancer has a piece of skin cut from her body with a scalpel. It is then grilled and fed to another actress.

Many audience members had to seek medical attention after the stomach-churning scenes which left them feeling nauseous and dizzy. Now, the controversial show, known for its explicit themes of sex and mutilation, has announced its return to the Stuttgart Opera House for the autumn of 2025.

Opera spokesperson Sebastian Ebling, 37, said: "We will be performing Sancta again next season. It had been planned for a long time that the opera should be included in the repertoire."

Tickets are expected to be available in early June, said the spokesperson.

Following the initial performances, right-wing conservative Catholics organised a demonstration outside the opera house. Catholic priest and city dean Christian Hermes, 54, said: "Nobody needs to tell me that they don't want to hurt religious feelings."

The play has already been staged in Schwerin and Vienna. After its run in Stuttgart, it is set to be performed at the Volksbuehne in Berlin this November.

Stuttgart Opera House officials said in a statement: "Paul Hindemith's Sancta Susanna, based on a text by August Stramm, tells the story of the nun Susanna, who liberates her repressed desires through a narrative from her sister in the face of the crucifix. Florentina Holzinger expands Sancta Susanna with compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Johanna Doderer, among others, to create a radical reflection on the form of the Catholic mass.

"With her performers, she engages in physical boundary experiences, exploring individual spirituality and faith, sexuality and pain, shame and liberation. Magic and religious wonders undergo a reinterpretation in an ecstatic celebration of community and self-determination."

They continued: "The performance is suitable for audiences aged 18 and over, featuring explicit sexual acts, self-harm, and depictions and descriptions of [sexual] violence. The performance will also include strobe effects, loud noises, blood, and needles."

Story: NewsX