Christian Stückl, director of the Oberammergau Passion Play and artistic director of the Munich Volkstheater, has suffered a mild heart attack. On Thursday last week, Stückl, 60, came to a Munich clinic for treatment. According to the circumstances, he is doing well, said spokesman Frederik Mayet on Monday. Stückl will be released from the hospital on Monday and wants to continue with the rehearsals as soon as possible.
The first big popular rehearsal in the Passion Theater with around 400 people scheduled for last Saturday had to be postponed. The preparations for the world-famous Passion Play are now in full swing again, and for the past few weeks, evening rehearsals with the performers have been taking place in Oberammergau almost every day. Stückl conducts these rehearsals himself and is also responsible for all other decisions. The Munich Volkstheater, which only last autumn opened its new building on Tumblingerstraßeit is also important for him to lead artistically.
The Passion Play dates back to a vow made in 1633, when the village vowed to perform the story of Jesus’ suffering every ten years if they were spared future plagues. Stückl’s illness is another minor setback for the Passion Play in Oberammergau, which was canceled in March 2020 just a few weeks before the premiere due to the corona pandemic had to be postponed by two years to 2022. Mayet, who is also one of the two Jesus performers, said the Passion Play will premiere as scheduled on May 14, 2022.