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Oberammergau Festspielhaus
Oberammergau’s Festspielhaus, or Passion Play Theater, is home to the once-a-decade event in 2010 (May-October). > More photos of Oberammergau.
PHOTO: Kassandro (Wikimedia Commons)

Passionsspiele is the German term for passion plays. Only once every ten years can you see Oberammergau’s theatrical offering of thanks for being spared from the plague (after 80 deaths) in 1633. 2010 marks the 41st time that the town’s citizens have staged the Biblical story of the Crucifixion.

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The Passion Play
Throughout the 376 years of the Oberammergau Passion Play there have been several different scripts, all based on the Biblical story of the crucifixion of Jesus. The actual play is the story of the last five days in Jesus’ life. A dozen additional “tableaux vivants” (living scenes, lebende Bilder), interspersed between acts, depict various stories from the Old Testament, including the Golden Calf and Adam and Eve being driven from the Garden of Eden. The play is performed in German, but it’s like opera: You get the idea from what you see and the music.

Music
Although it has been modified over the years, the basic music used today was composed for the 1820 Passion Play by Rochus Dedler (1779-1822), a native of Oberammergau. Markus Zwink, the current musical director, has adapted the music for 2010 to reflect changes in the script and to better suit modern audiences. Similar musical alterations were already made for the play in 2000.

The Script
In the early years the play was staged in rhyming verse. In 1810 the monk Othmar Weis created a prose version (performed in 1811). It was revised for the 1860 play by the priest Josef Alois Daisenberger, and it is essentially the Daisenberger script that has been in use ever since. Only minor changes to the text were made in the 19th and 20th centuries. There was some criticism of the play’s treatment of the Jews, but it was not until the 1950 performance, following WWII, and in later years that Oberammergau officials took such criticism seriously.

Henry Ford in Oberammergau
The American automobile magnate Henry Ford, here seen (with dark bowler hat) walking down an Oberammergau street, attended the Passion Play in 1930.
PHOTO: Bundesarchiv/Wikmedia Commons

Controversy
In the postwar years, the Nazi horror of the Holocaust caused people to take a closer look at the text used for the Passion Play, which at that time had a decidely anti-Jewish tone. Before the 1950 event, critics called for changes in the anti-Semitic dialogue and deletion of lines that blamed the Jews for Christ’s death (who was also a Jew).

This criticism caused a split between factions within the town of Oberammergau, but those who wanted no changes to the text of the Passion Play won out for many more years. Increasing pressure from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the 1970s and '80s led to some minor changes, but it was not until 2000 that the Passion Play script underwent any serious changes. Although the ADL and others were not entirely happy with the 2000 revision, it did drop many of the more offensive aspects found in earlier productions.

For the 2010 performances, Oberammergau officials and various authors have cooperated with the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee to create a much more modified script, one that also more fully portrays Jesus and life in Roman occupied Israel at the time of the Crucifixion.

The Anti-Defamation League and the Play
The script of the new [2000] version has been changed much to avoid anti-Judaism and the organizers are to be congratulated for their editorial efforts and constant cooperation with ADL. We look forward to continue our creative working relationship. There is still, however, a serious problem and concern about the very negative presentation of Jewish leadership in the complex society of the First Century. It implies a sense of community guilt for Jesus’ death, minimizing Pilate’s and Roman responsibility for the death of Jesus.
   ...Since the late Seventies, the Anti-Defamation League has been very critical of the script which projected a theological anti-Judaism, as well as an anti-Semitic message. It is not by chance that Adolf Hitler, who saw the 1934 [Oberammergau] presentation, praised it as a "precious tool" in the fight against Jews and Judaism.
   - Statement by the ADL about the 2000 presentation
   Also see the ADL's Critique of the 2000 Passion Play script.

Attending the Oberammergau Passion Play

May to October 2010
For 2010, the Passion Play will have 102 performances presented five days a week from May 15 to October 3. The production begins at 2:30 p.m. and runs for five hours, with a three-hour break for dinner, ending at 10:30 each night. This is the first time in the play’s history that it will end in darkness. Director (Spielleiter) Christian Stückl defends this move by saying it is more realistic to have the Crucifixion take place at night. Because the play is such an endurance contest for the performers, all of the main roles (Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Judas, etc.) are cast with two actors each, who appear on stage on different nights.

150,000 Tickets for Americans
In recent years, the Passion Play in Oberammergau has drawn an audience of about 500,000 people from Germany, Europe and all over the world. The Oberammergau organizers set aside 150,000 tickets for the United States alone. But individual tickets sell out quickly. Most attendees must purchase a package tour that includes Passion Play tickets and overnight accommodations in Oberammergau or a nearby town. Travel agencies also offer complete tours with airline travel, meals, hotel and play tickets.

See more Oberammergau links below the photo.

Oberammergau Passion Play - Crucifixion scene
The Oberammergau Passion Play Crucifixion scene. More photos.
PHOTO: Oberammergau Passion Play 2000

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