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
Maria Stader "The Abduction from the Seraglio", two versions (1954 and 1960) of 'Exsultate, jubilate' and the Great Mass, as well as Verdi's Messa da Requiem. She won, the Geneva International Music Competition in 1939, but although she "seemed poised for major stardom... her career was delayed by the outbreak of World War II," according to "Opera News". Later in her career, Stader acquired a reputation as an outstanding Bach interpreter, especially with Karl Richter and Ferenc Fricsay. She recorded the "Requiem" by Antonín Dvořák with Karel Ančerl, and Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" (as Marzelline) with Hans Knappertsbusch. Stader was highly praised for