For nearly four centuries, many people have dedicated themselves to the Passion Play in special ways. Here we present the most important ones in brief:
Father Ferdinand Rosner (1709 - 1778)
The Benedictine monk from Ettal wrote a new Passion Play, the “Passio Nova,” a sacred Baroque theater piece. He introduced the tableaux vivants, which remain a central element of the Passion Plays in Oberammergau to this day.
Father Othmar Weiss (1770 - 1843)
With secularization more than 200 years ago, Passion Plays were banned in Bavaria. Most of the plays that existed at the time thus came to an end. However, Father Othmar Weiß from the Benedictine monastery of Ettal wrote a new text for the Oberammergau Passion Play, with a new focus. A central motif was reconciliation, not an exclusively Christian theme. As a result, Oberammergau was granted permission to perform again. Father Othmar Weiß therefore played a crucial role in ensuring that the Oberammergau Passion Play survived this politically turbulent period.
Rochus Dedler (1779 - 1823)
Rochus Dedler composed the incidental music for Othmar Weiß's new Passion Play in 1810. Unfortunately, the Passion Play music from the period before Dedler has not survived. The majority of the music still used today is by Rochus Dedler.
Joseph Daisenberger (1799 - 1883)
The Oberammergau parish priest revised Othmar Weiß's text. His version was performed almost unchanged for 130 years until Christian Stückl took over as director. His production profoundly shaped the Passion Play: On the one hand, he placed the Christian message of salvation at the center. On the other hand, his texts were also characterized by a deep-seated antisemitism, which continued to manifest itself in the Passion Play long after the end of Nazi rule.
Eugen Papst (1886 - 1956)
Eugen Papst reworked Dedler's music after World War II.
