Okay, yes—they look to be in pure agony. And before the last note fades, they drop their instruments and run for the exits like the pyretic victims they are. But judge not — they faced their crucible (almost literally so), and performed nearly without flaw.
“They” are the Danish National Chamber Orchestra, and their tormentor/collaborator is Danish chili-pepper aficionado (isn’t it good to know there’s such a thing?), Chili Klaus. Their challenge, for whatever twisted reason, was to consume the world’s hottest chilis—ghost peppers, Carolina Reapers, Trinidad Scorpions—smack dab in the middle of a performance of Tango Jalousie.
How did it go? Better than you might expect, actually. No, they don’t look to be having the times of their lives (although the second violinist, my new hero, looks 
like she could eat a peck of these perfidious peppers while shrugging her way through a Wagner opera or two)…but they toughed it out. More than that, near as I can tell, they missed nary a note.
The video of this—what to call it? “Stunt” hardly does it justice—has only been up for a week, yet has garnered more than two million hits. Deservedly so, it’s a spectacle unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
Please, for their sakes, watch it all. Resist the temptation to skip ahead to the capsaicin-laced climax. And if you really want to give them their due, go ahead and munch the hottest chili in your larder just before you hit play.
