Passion play
Corona break: Oberammergau is gearing up for passion
Employees of the props are setting up angel wings on the stage for the Passion Play 2022. The premiere should take place in six months, on May 14, 2022. Photo: Angelika Warmuth / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Originated 400 years ago from a plague vow, failed last year due to Corona: The Passion Play in Oberammergau should be rescheduled for next year. Now the preparations start.
The sewing machines rattle in the tailoring shop, cardboard boxes are piled up in the aisles behind the stage, next to them coat racks.
Oberammergau is gearing up for the Passion Play. In six months, on May 14, 2022, the premiere should take place – two years later than planned. In March 2020, game director Christian Stückl postponed the famous Passion, which only takes place every ten years, to 2022 due to the corona pandemic.
Choir rehearsals should start in November, due to Corona only with a small cast for the time being. The textual rehearsals should start in January.
One is very confident for the premiere, the advance sales are going well, says a spokeswoman for the Passion Play. Around 70 percent of the tickets for the 100 or so performances have been sold. «At the moment we are assuming that we can take all of the places. The positive thing is that we have good ventilation. ” The open-air theater has around 4,500 seats. “We are confident that the premiere can take place next year.” Safety for everyone is a top priority. “We are working on safety and hygiene concepts and are in constant contact with the responsible authorities.”
Passion plays go back to plague legend
The passion goes back to an almost 400 year old vow. The plague raged in Europe – and finally killed the people in the place at the foot of the mountains. In 1633, the people of Oberammergau promised to perform the Passion every ten years if no one died of the epidemic – which, according to legend, happened.
On the streets of the Upper Bavarian town you can see that the passion is approaching. Flowing hair and beards characterize the picture. All players – except for Romans and angels – have to let their hair grow. That is how tradition wants it. The hair and beard decree has been in effect since Ash Wednesday: hands off scissors and razors. With the beards, there was goodwill this time due to corona: The FFP2 mask should also fit well with the men, so beard growth was initially voluntary.
Around 2100 people from Oberammergau want to take part in the Passion, almost half of the 5000 residents. Some started with a mane in February – the hairdressers had closed due to the pandemic.
The props and stage sets that were neatly stowed away in spring 2020 are currently being unpacked: the golden calf, the lions for the portrayal of Daniel in the lions’ den, numerous individual parts. “Everything is spotted: is everything ok?” Explains the spokeswoman. “Every single costume has to be picked up again, there are fittings for every single player.”
Some may have gained weight during the Corona period, others may have achieved the long-desired fasting goal. For children and the performers of the people, the main group of players, the clothing sizes apply – but here too, they have to be adjusted.
In the near future, Spielleiter Stückl will focus more on the text. This work always ends shortly before the premiere, he once said. “The text is not a fixed structure.”
Stückl is staging the Passion for the fourth time. The honorary citizen of Oberammergau, who is also the artistic director of the Munich Volkstheater, has renewed the amateur play of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in many ways. In particular, he freed it from anti-Semitic traits. Married women are allowed to play Maria today, a taboo until 1990. A Protestant was given a leading role in Stückl’s first passion. Recently, too, he set an example with his cast: For the first time, two Oberammergau Muslims have leading roles.
Jesus actor: “90 percent of the texts no longer ready”
42 players embody the 21 main roles, which are occupied twice. Almost all of them kept their roles, which Stückl had already given in 2018. Although they had already rehearsed, they will now have to work hard again. “I think I don’t have 90 percent of the texts I’ve already learned at hand,” said Jesus actor Frederik Mayet back in January. “In terms of rehearsals, we will not start where we left off, but start all over again,” said the second Jesus Rochus Rückel at the time.
Also on stage: horses, goats, sheep and pigeons. Two camels and the donkey Sancho are brought to Oberammergau. He has the main animal role: The giant Catalan donkey is supposed to carry Jesus when entering Jerusalem. Protests from animal rights activists who thought that Jesus should move in on the e-scooter in keeping with the times fizzled out.