The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-08-28

curious fact worthy of notice, and tina
: is that Mary, the mother of Christ, i
: always represented by young person
l as the Ober-Ammergauers consider tina
| she was endowed with perpetual youth
{ 1t has been said that the Passion Pla,
, is now money-making scheme, but thai
is really not the case, and the villager,
still consider the play in the light of g
religious performance. In 1870 the com
munity refused an offer of $4,000 from
an enterprising German, who wished ia
farm the receipts for that year, and in
1871 they refused very tempting offers to
perform in England and America. The
next year some of the members of the
company were offered large sums of
money if they would perform the Pas
sion Play in Vienna during the Exposi-
ton of 1873, but they refused The in
dividuals lose in neglected work more
than they are paid for their roles. In
1850 Tobias Flunger received but TWEEN
ty-fve dollars for acting the part of
Christ all that summer In 1850 the re-
muneration was somewhat greater, and
1T augmented ten years later TO seventy
dollars, which was paid Josef Maier for
the part of Christ that he enacted that
year. In 1871 he received a little more
than that sum, while the other actors did
not obtain more than sixty dollars each.
After each performance the net proceeds
are divided among the actors after GER
tain sum have been set aside for village
Improvements and other things.
This year they will no doubt make
more money, owing to the increased
scale of prices and to the fact that un-
usual numbers are going there to see the
play. These good people assuredly de-
serve all they can earn in the Passion
year, which comes only once in every
decade; for wood carving is very mea-
gerly paid. True, the wants of the peO-
pie are easily satisfied, and their plot of
meadow and their fruit gardens help to
make life more comfortable than it seems
at first glance.
The theatre of ber-Ammergau is built
principally of painted wood; it is 100
feet wide by 220 feet deep, and has no
outside walls only roof over part of
the auditorium. There are seats for
4, 100 persons. Exactly as in the great
theatre built for the Wagner festivals at
Beyrouth, the orchestra is placed quite
out of view of the spectators. The new
building has cost over $4,000, and if we
add to this the cost of costumes, scenery,
ETC., the expense of producing the Pas
sion Play will easily foot up to over $20,-
900. The stage proper is about 81 feet
deep, and is divided into three parts. On
the left is the house of PLATE and a street
of Jerusalem, and on the right the house
of Annas, the High Priest, and another
street in the holy city. AS there is no
drop curtain, these houses are constantly
in view of the audience. Between these
houses is a middle stage, which has
curtain showing Moses and the two
prophets, Isaiah and jeremiah. Here are
enacted the "tableaux vivantsn and
scenes from the Old Testament, which
are great feature in this production.
The stage preserves in its noble simple
ity the architectural style of Grecian
temple. The decorations and side scenes
are by the well known Mr.. Burkhard of
Vienna; the few and simple machineries
are by Mr.. Lautenschlager of Munich,
the sole manager and inventor of this
new building. But the most remarkable
and beautiful of all the accessories of
this really wonderful stage is the natural
scenery which delights the eye of the
spectator on every side, it is all open to
the day. From the right well wooded
mountain and from the left the cele-
brated crOss-crowned Kofel gazes down
upOh Ilo NlSlUOIb, WHllo Ill Ille ulSItuC6
they can see a charming expanse of
flowery meadow belonging to the Am
mergau Valley.
The village of Ober-Ammergau was
formerly Roman emporium on the high
road running from Verona to Augsburg.
1t is situated at height of 2,540 feet
above the sea in the Bavarian highlands,
about seventy miles south of Munich. 1t
has population of about 1900, and
extends for nearly mile in a green and
smiling valley on both sides of the
gently flowing river Ammer. The neat
white houses are often adorned ON the
outside with paintings of Biblical scenes.
The surroundings consist of verdant
meadows and bushy hills. To the south
is seen dominating all the much revered
'Kofel," 1850 feet high. The chain of
hill bounding Ober-Ammergau to the
north, at the foot of which the theatre is
built, bears the appellation of fright
rich, the chain lying opposite poor"
To this fact is due the origin of the say
ing, common among the villagers
riches lie behind us; poverty stares us
in the face'-a jest to which undoubt-
edly the profits accruing from the Pas
sion Play of 1890 will give aprecisely OPP
pOsite tenor.-Rdrl KdrOly.