Salmünster Passion Play
The Salmünster Passion Play was launched in 1983 as an altar boy game. Every four years, the passion ensemble, young in comparison to other European countries, performs the suffering and death of Jesus during Lent . The venue is the Salmünster baroque church of St. Peter and Paul . In addition to the Italian-German Bensheim Passion Play , which was created at the same time and is shown annually as a procession, and the "Passion Play Eppertshausen", which has been held every three years since 2006, it is one of the continuously performed Passion plays in Hesse .
History of origin
On Palm Sunday 1983, the pastor at the time, Father Matthias Kircher, decided to have the acolytes present the Passion of Jesus in a short play instead of the sermon. In 1988 two acolytes developed a full-length Passion Play based on the script of Franco Zeffirelli's film " Jesus von Nazareth ". Since the piece thus produced was beyond the scope of a church service, the performance was moved to Neuhof in 1989 . In 1990 the Passion Play went on tour to Fulda and Schlüchtern and achieved greater awareness. From 1991 the Passion Plays were accompanied live by a symphonic orchestra. Further performances took place in Hösbach and Obernburg am Main .
In 1993, European Passion Play venues united in Ligny to form the Europassion . The Salmünster Passion Play is a founding member.
In 1994 a completely new text was created. In 1998 the Passion got its own stage, partly made by ensemble members. In 2004 the Europassion of Youth was a guest in Salmünster.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Salmünster Passion Play, the text was revised. A reference to the present emerged, which u. a. was implemented with a projector. Many costumes were renewed and the stage raised. The Salmünster Passion Play hosted the general assembly of the Europassion.
In 2011, Auxiliary Bishop Karlheinz Diez became a patron of the game for the first time . The reference to the present was further expanded by the leading figure of the adulteress Miriam. The stage was enlarged. Sound transmission and a new lighting concept highlighted the scenery.
In the 2014 season, the Salmünster Passion Play dealt with prejudices - “Condemned!” Was the overarching motto. One of the focal points was the biblical passage "The conversation at Jacob's well" [Jn 4,1-26]. The patron for this season was the Fulda Bishop Heinz Josef Algermissen .
The 15th season in 2018 was themed “Believe. Acts. ". It showed how important it was in Jesus' time and still is today to live faith. The apostolic nuncio, Dr. Nikola Eterović . The representative of the Holy See also held the opening service.
text
The text is in today's language and is rewritten for each season with a different guiding principle. The focus here is deliberately on processing socio-religious topics. In addition to this thematic processing, the Salmünster Passion Play mainly shows scenes from the people who are close to the audience.
The performance is played on a professional stage that is set up for the performances and rehearsals in the chancel of the parish church. It is staged through media use and light.