Oberammergau SPECIAL OFFER
£300 discount
7th June - just 2 seats availableThe Oberammergau Passion Play
The Vow
The tradition of the world-renowned Oberammergau Passion Play began with a vow made during the Thirty Years War. While the Swedes were invading, Bavaria was hit by a devastating plague, which claimed more than 80 lives in Oberammergau alone. In 1633, hoping to secure God´s help, the village elders vowed to "keep the Passion tragedy every ten years" if the village was spared further deaths. The epidemic came to a standstill, and in 1634 the people of Oberammergau fulfilled their vow for the first time. In 1680, the play was moved to every ´full´ ten years.
The Actors
The Passion Play has remained an integral part of village life right up to the present day. It is performed exclusively by amateur actors, who are either born in Oberammergau or have lived there for 20 years. Some 2,200 of the 5,300 or so inhabitants were involved either on stage or backstage, 550 of them children in the play in the year 2000.
The Stage
The performances initially took place on a simple wooden construction erected in the cemetery alongside the church. The stage, which has been constantly rebuilt and technically improved, was given its present, monumental structure in 1930. The terraces rising towards the back of the auditorium ensure a good view from every seat (4800) of the open-air stage, where the play is performed whatever the weather.
The Text
The oldest version of the text, probably dating back to 1634, is based on Passion plays of the 15th and 16th centuries. Over the decades, text and staging have been constantly changed to suit the taste and theology of the times. Knowledgeable assistance with script revisions came from the neighbouring monastery of Ettal. The basis for the present-day script originally came from Othmar Weis, a Benedictine monk, and was revised between 1850 and 1868 by the village priest of that time, Joseph Alois Daisenberger. The production in 2000 responded to criticism of the anti-Jewish references contained in the play which had been voiced by both Jews and Christians, by clearly representing Jesus´ roots in the traditions of Judaism.
The Living Images
A special feature of the Passion Play are its living images: colourful scenes from the Old Testament, which are woven into the story of the Passion in the form of still-life pictures. An element of the play since Baroque times, they have made Oberammergau a role model for other Passion Play venues.
The Music
The music, which with choral and prologue performances considerably determines the character of the play, has constantly been adapted to new needs. Between 1811 and 1829, Oberammergau´s teacher and church musician Rochus Dedler wrote a sensitive score which has accompanied the Passion Play and the life of the people of Oberammergau ever since. Markus Zwink, who added some contemporary themes, revised the version for the Passion Play 2000.
The Tradition
A key aspect in the much praised artistic unity of text, music, set and costumes has certainly been the fact that the people of Oberammergau, who are experienced woodcarvers, have always had a keen artistic instinct for the use of colours and shapes. The people of Oberammergau have remained true to their tradition and they have made the Oberammergau Passion Play the greatest and best-known in the world. This success story would have been impossible, however, without the willingness of the entire village to make a mammoth community effort to play out the story of the suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth as a story of hope and redemption for the world once every ten years.
