Religious institution - Holzinger production sees sold-out trade fair exhibit
The widely awaited first opera performance by Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger is generating a lot of buzz among audiences. The premiere of "Sancta," a blend of Paul Hindemith's 1921 one-act opera "Sancta Susanna," new compositions, and religious pieces, at the Mecklenburg State Theater Schwerin on Thursday is fully booked, according to a statement released on Monday. Tickets for the next three days' shows have also been allocated. Only standing tickets are still up for grabs at the box office.
The production, called "Feminist Mass," is a collaboration between Holzinger and the Mecklenburg State Theater, Stuttgart State Opera, Vienna Festival, Berlin Volksbühne, and Dutch and Belgian artists and organizers. After its opening in Schwerin, the show will be shown in Vienna from June 10-15 and later in Stuttgart and Berlin in the fall.
For years, Holzinger has been making waves in the theater world with her experimental work, which explores the representation of female bodies in provocative and unconventional ways. In "Dance," first performed in Vienna in 2019, she challenged conventional ballet norms. "Ophelia's Got Talent," debuted at the Berlin Volksbühne in 2022, tackled a subject from classical theater by putting it in the context of modern-day talent shows.
With "Sancta" at the State Theater, Holzinger is entering the opera genre for the first time. Hindemith's "Sancta Susanna" was criticized by many for its perceived blasphemy, as it depicts a nun being severely punished for her sexual autonomy. "An opera centered on female libido is bound to be intriguing," she said at the onset of rehearsals, "this is also about the subjugation of the physical body in a religious setting." Citing this work's potential to offer a lighthearted contrast to religious discipline and the punishment of sexuality for religious euphoria, she felt compelled to bring it to the stage.
The State Theater's announcement describes "Sancta" as presenting a "disarming counterpoint to religious discipline and punishment of sexuality for the sake of religious rapture." The Sistine Chapel is reimagined as a climbing wall, the opera is transformed into a rock musical, God is envisioned as a robot, and the holy mass becomes an extravaganza.
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- Following its success in Schwerin, the controversial opera production "Sancta" by Florentina Holzinger will be presented at the Vienna Festival from June 10-15.
- The collaboration between Holzinger and the Vienna Festival is not the first time they've worked together; their previous collaboration, "Dance," showcased at the Theater in Vienna in 2019, challenged traditional ballet norms.
- After its Vienna run, the opera will move to Stuttgart State Opera in the fall, bringing the experimental and provocative work of Holzinger to yet another renowned theater in Germany, the Volksbühne Berlin.
- The collaboration on "Sancta" also includes partners from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Stuttgart, Vienna, Berlin, and the Netherlands and Belgium, showcasing the international reach and influence of Holzinger's groundbreaking work in the theater scene.
Source: www.stern.de
