Isabel Burton

“ I have seen all the best actors and actresses of my day, and I have never beheld this before. There is never a stage strut nor a loud emotion; save when the Jews grow excited and passionate over their revenge--it is quite an Eastern idea--the gravest woes are calm and dignified.
There is no tour de force, no thirst for reputation; it is their religious and dramatic training, from the cradle to the grave, which enables them in so artistic, realistic, and devotional a spirit to portray thus the life and sufferings of Jesus. ”

“ Many a hardened sinner may be induced to shed tears of penitence at the sight of the dear Redeemer, at the sight of the bitterness He was compelled to endure for our sins; and, under the influence of Divine grace, these tears may be the foreboders of true conversion. The witnessing of the Passion may become the means of the Good Shepherd seeking and finding the lost lambs of His flock."
So may it be. Long may the Passion-Play at Ober-Ammergau continue in this spirit to glorify the Name of Jesus the Crucified, and kindle new faith and love in Him! ”

“ Forbid the people ridiculing the plays and players, as they should be held in veneration, but not from witnessing the plays, and least of all this Play, which is a something that should not be touched, which has a halo of its own, from its origin, its religious importance, its native refinement. ”

“ I thought the performance as near dramatic and artistic perfection as human acting could be, and that it could be done nowhere else than here, where such a peculiar combination of circumstances exist, generations for centuries having been brought up to it; but I am grateful also for the safeguards which exist--since the villagers' temptations are great and the sums they have refused are enormous--for preserving its simplicity, devotion, and art.
Firstly, the Ammergauers are quite cut off, by their geographical position, from the contaminating influence of the outer world. ”

“ They are really like sprites, every action is so quiet, slow, calm, and in unison; you do not hear them come or go off; their walk is natural, manly, and majestic; their actions large, graceful, and full of ease. ”

“ I should here remark that all the twenty-six groups or tableaux, which represent the Old Testament foreshadowings of the New, are most artistic, but I would single out the Israelites being fed with manna. The hundred and fifty little children, some looking up, and all collecting and catching it, is one of the finest. ”

“ THE ARRANGEMENTS There are seventeen principal performers, including the Choragus, or the Proclamator, and the Conductor--these are the intelligent, cultivated, artistic wood-carvers; between five and six hundred persons appear on the stage--these are the peasants; and the theatre altogether, with workmen, machinery, etc., etc., gives occupation to seven hundred out of the thirteen hundred inhabitants of Ober-Ammergau. The money that flows into the village through the Passion-Play is divided into four parts: the first to the poor; the second to the expense of the theatre ”

“ I cannot better conclude than by quoting those earnest words, for they sum up the whole essence of the motive of the sacred Play:--
"Through the living remembrance of the Saviour's sacrificial death, many Christians will be moved and edified, strengthened anew in their faith and love to Him, and will return to their homes with renewed determination to be truer followers of Christ. Many of the lukewarm and light-minded will not be able to cast aside all the earnest impressions of what they see and hear ”

“ The ceremonial life of the Holy Catholic Church and the refinement and art of their calling as woodcarvers may account for much; also they have a School of Art and Design at Partenkirchen and a School of Design at Ober-Ammergau; but the great training-school is the village church, with its ceremonies, processions, music, and song. It is not mere theatrical drilling; they do not act, a great deal of it takes place in the church all year round. ”

“ Some keep their parts for years. For example, this year, 1880, there are eight performers of 1870. Two others are also old actors, who have had their parts changed, and there are seven new ones. They can always choose new performers or fill up a blank, because they train the whole ten years. Mayr is now a king amongst them; firstly, it is a great thing to be an Ober-Ammergauer; secondly, it is a high distinction to be employed at all in the theatre; next to that, a person rises in value in proportion to what part he acts, and Christus is the king of them all. ”

“ Do they fancy themselves better than St. Gregory of Nazianzen and other holy early Christians who dramatised portions of the Holy Scriptures upon the model of ancient Greek plays, which had their origin in mytholody and worship of the gods?--for all dramas, both ancient and modern, had a religious origin, just as the worship of God gave rise to the Early Mysteries and Convent Plays in the time of Charlemagne. ”

“ THE EFFECT OF THE PLAY I should now like to add a few words on the effect of the Play, as I have heard that, since the Ammergauers have had the good and bad fortune to be known to what we call the world, there are people in it who wish to put their Play down. ”

“ The music is much the same. Their organist and their schoolmaster must be a musician and a composer; the children learn by heart and sing the music of the Drama in school, the same as many teach their children Watts's hymns. ”

“ Mayr, who performed the part of Christus both now, 1880, and in 1870, only received the sum of £20 in 1870, and £31 10s. in 1880; Judas had about £5. It is not even enough to compensate them for the time lost in wood-carving.
The whole thing is as perfect as can be. Christus (Mayr) and Judas (Lechner) stand far higher in excellence than the others, and Judas is also the best wood-carver.
The Play consists of four elements: chorus, tableaux, dramatic incident, and the actors. There is great excitement in the village the year before the Play. ”

“ But no! it must be entirely swept away because of a few bad people, as if they were the strong and the majority the weak.
In this instance one must fear that God will manifest His displeasure. If the Ammergauers are forced by undue pressure to break their vow, a chastisement will probably fall on the author of the prohibition, or a scourge will come upon the village at the ten years if the Play is not acted. ”

“ It must do a world of good; it cannot do any real harm. Whoever is scandalised or takes it in bad part was bad by nature before going to Ober-Ammergau. There are those who would pull down church, altar, and priest equally with this Play. ”

“ Then Father Daisenberger succeeded Weiss, his master, and still [as of 1890] lives for and works amongst his people, exercising great influence over them, although eighty-two years of age. Between 1840 and 1849 he recast the play again for the performance of 1850.
The text and music were never committed to writing -- i.e., given to the performers; they were obliged to learn and commit to memory from dictation and rehearsal both music and dialogue. ”

“ They sing forty-seven times, and often at great length, and that two days a week. They supply all the interludes whilst the scenes are being changed, exposed to sun, rain, wind, or snow, and get the least praise or thanks. ”