"Sancta," the latest production by Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger, has ignited significant controversy due to its explicit content and perceived anti-Catholic undertones. Premiering in Stuttgart and later staged at Berlin's Volksbühne theatre, the opera presents provocative scenes, including depictions of a lesbian pope, a female Jesus, and nuns engaging in explicit acts.
The opera's graphic nature has elicited strong reactions from audiences and religious communities alike. In Stuttgart, reports indicate that 18 attendees required medical attention for severe nausea, attributed to the performance's intense and explicit scenes. Religious leaders, including Archbishop Franz Lackner of Salzburg, have condemned the production, stating it is "seriously offensive to believers’ religious feelings and convictions."
Despite the backlash, the production has played to sold-out audiences, indicating a section of the German public that is hypersensitive to perceived criticism of Muslims and Jews, but deeply bigoted against its Catholic community.
