ABSTRACT
On 4 and 5 October 1994, 53 people suffered a violent death, all of them members of a magical-esoteric religion, l'Ordre du Temple Solaire (OTS), also known as the Solar Temple. Jouret became their star speaker, and brought charismatic claims and gifts of his own to the Order. Jacques Breyer, French esoteric author and founder of the Sovereign Order of the Solar Temple in 1952, was a spiritual mentor and a strong presence in the Swiss OTS. In 1983 he joined l'Ordre Renov du Temple (ORT) and, when its founder Julien Origas died, he briefly assumed the leadership, but was expelled by Origas's daughter Catherine, after a struggle over the leadership and funds. The Geneva Templars would occasionally stage operas: members would dress up as characters, make the sets, hold lengthy rehearsals, and perform the works of Wagner, Verdi or Puccini, miming the arias to compact disk (CDs) playing in the background, complete with dramatic gestures.
