Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-06-21
THE PASSION PLAY.
An Interesting Letter by Miss
Van Patten.
Quaint and Picturesque Village OF ODER
Ammergau in Which the Sacred
Drama OF the Life Of Christ is
Presented Once in Ten Years.

The readers of tho Free Press will be
very glad OF the opportunity to read the
following letter from Miss Mary Van Pat
ten, daughter of Hon. w. j. Van Patten
telling of u recent visit to ODER Ammergau
and OF its famous Passion Play. The
charming description of the principal char
acters OF the play, and the vivid local
coloring unite In making the letter one OF
exceptional interest.
Dear FRIENDSHIP you have received the
letter of our Innsbruck journey you will
not be surprised to get this one from Ober
Ammergau. Imagine US really and ac-
tually in this dear old village with people
who are i'll so many ways absolutely out
Of the world We begin with our arrival
at the town after our delightful trip from
Mittcnwald After a half hours ride from
Etol / caught a glimpse o: tie mountain
with its cross, The kofel, at the base of
which lies the village which we soon
reached. The streets of the village were
literally Overlooking with Americans, which
took away from the picturesqueness of the
town, but this was made up for in way,
by the Tyroese peasants in their gray and
green coats and hats with the inevitable
feather. Our driver wound his way
through the streets until we came to the
Ticket bureau whore / was fortunate
enough to find a man who spoke English,
and he gave us our entrance tickets and
told us where to find lodging for the two
nights.
\ young Tyrolese guided us TO this little
whitewashed house where two girls, such
nico looking German girls, met us. took
our baggage and piloted us up a short
flight of very steep stairs to our rooms
We left our things and Immediately start
cd out to sec everything that we could.
\ number of new buildings have gone up
for this year DIS they expect such a crowd
of people, and that takes away bit from
ha ma II m &
place, but as you see the villagers in their
homes and going about the town as quiet
" and simply as though nothing unusual
were happening. and as you see the men
with the earnest ottentimes beautiful ia
ccs and flowing hair, at their usual work.
you forget all the English and Americans
that before you have wished out of the
way. and you see just what you have
come to see-only more than you would
ever expect to find
AS We first started out we ran across
the Bidwell whom we had hoped to see.
They took us to the home of Anton Lang,
the man who this year for the first time
takes the part of Christ, where they had
been sent. You see the people all open
their homes for these three or four months
and about every room is taken, though
most of the Americans go to the public
places where they speak English.
The houses here are like those that Eliz-
dDetn tells you ABOUT III NlttcnWdlu anu
the other little villages we drove through,
so many of them frescoed. 1 think that
the work on them here is much finer and
the coloring more delicate than in most
OF the other towns. For example, l stopped
at the house of Anton Lechner, one of the
finest singers this morning for moment,
and | noticed how beautiful the colorirg
was of flock of swallows and few birds
here and there on the front of the house,
and over the doorway a really beautiful
Assumption.
Well to begin again. We went with the
girls to the house. and were, of course,
hoping for a sight of Anton Lang. We
had seen beautiful pictures of him in diff
ferent little shops on the way, and so were
prepared for good deaf and were not dis
appointed. Somehow, | had not expected
to see the man going about unconcernedly
as all the rest of the people. but viii.
standing in the narrow hallway looking at
one or two of the photographs. | heard
some one speak to me, and there he was.
A man in the rough dress of a peasant,
but with the most ideal head that one
ever saw / will not try to describe him to
YOU, for these photographs that We are
sending will show you what he H. like
better than can tell you but they do not
show his bright sunny smile which lights
his face wonderfully or the many diff
ferent expressions, just shading from one
of Christ in the play almost perfect IL
ever ] wished for a word in German it
was when he was standing there smiling
at us, and We absolutely dumb without a
word to say for ourselves. None of the
people here speak English except the
daughters of the burgomaster. All of
those who take part in the play have for
sale in their cottages a few photographs
so you can buy them in that way if you
wish, and have them signed. as we did
That evening after dinner, which, We
had in tiny little front room, and ate
with wooden handled steel tined forks, one
of the girls from the house which by the
way is the house Of Sebastin Bauer. the
Plate. took us across the way to the
house of Mary, or Anna Flunger. She is
a lovely girl OF a distinctively Jewish
type, though not as ideal as the one of ten
years ago. Rosa Lang.
We went to the little shop of Peter
Rendl. the John, who is a wood carver
and does beautiful work. He was to have
had the part OF Christus this year but UNI
fortunately the poor fellow cannot to save
his life grow beard so he remains John
as he was the last time.
IL Is hard to tell you in a letter what
this means to the people, and above all to
the principal characters, and how 1t i'm
presses spectator and visitor. There is
so much to tell you. so much that We have
learned of the character of the people and
their preparation for the Passion Play
that ! don't know whore TO begin, so l
think III let good share
OF it wait until We get hom.
but I will tell you just a bit that
I found out this morning from Emma
Lang, the daughter of the Burgomaster,
who is the manager of the whole thing.
No one can take any part, even the
least, who is not native born ODER Am
mergauite, and the chief characters are
chosen according to their fitness for the
parts, both in appearance and in their
lives. The election is made in the Deem
Der before the beginning of the perfor-
nance and is made by all the men of the
village though there Is a committee of
about twenty-four who finally decide the
matter. OF course the greatest honor that
can come to any man of the village Is to
be chosen for the Christ, and to the wo-
men to be Mary, but there is absolutely
no rivalry or any feeling of jealousy If one
who has expected it is not chosen After
the election they Immediately begin the
study of the different parts with which
they have all been familiar from child
hood, and then later begin the stage re-
hearsals. But there is no coaching or
training of the principal parts by any one.
Anton Lang plays the part as he feels
and thinks II must be done, and no one
drills him or gives him advice except pos
sbly a few hints from Herr Lang, and
the same with the other parts except, of
course, the ensemble, soldiers, mobs and
the like, who have to be drilled. Then the
tableaux, which are the most wonderful
things we have ever seen. The color
scheme, that Is the dress of all the per-
] H., 49,, f-,.