Regieoper to be the most radically shocking to date. The inspiration for Mozart's opera was the overwhelming fascination of Europeans by all things Turkish. Orientalist elements abound in this story of a hero trying to rescue two girls from the clutches of an evil Pasha who has installed them in his harem, Seraglio. Instead of a genteel harem, Bieto has set this Abduction in a modern, garish bordello where men and women engage in extreme acts of sex and brutality. The sets consist mainly of whorehouse accoutrements, the lighting is colored and garish, and the costumes for the most part are
Seraglio Istanbul. The term can also refer to other traditional Turkish palaces—every imperial prince had his own—and other grand houses built around courtyards. In modern Italian the word is spelled "serraglio". It may refer to a wall or structure for containment, for example of caged wild animals; or for defence, such as the Serraglio of Villafranca di Verona, a defensive wall built by the Scaligeri. The ghettoes established in many Italian cities following the promulgation by Pope Paul IV in 1555 of the papal bull "Cum nimis absurdum" were initially called "serraglio degli ebrei", "enclosure of the Jews". The Seraglio is