AT OBER-AMMERGAU.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9991, 10 March 1910, Page 4

AT OBER-AMMERGAU.

In the year of the Ammergau Passion Play, it is interesting to find amongst Mr Preston-Thomas' reminiscences an account of two representations, far apart, in the. years 1870 and 1900. Even at the earlier date, the little village could only accommodate a small proportion of those who desired to be present, and throughout the previous night the Tyrolese peasants came streaming over the hills. Mayr, who then took the chief part, was judged to be unapproachably great. "As you see him, with the traditional purple 1 robe, a scarlet mantle hanging loosely over it, you fancy that the figure before you might have emerged from one of the pictures of the old masters, although it is without the effeminacy which often spoils their sacred ideals." He played again in 1871, 1880, and 1890, but in 1900 his sue- 1 cessor was Auton Lang, "who acted fairly well, but did uot possess Mayr's exceptional qualifications." 'And in 1901), this observer, at any rate, was grievously disappointed in the gener al effect. He had nothing but praise for the beauty and reverence of the 1870 representation. Thirty years after, the stage management was more conventional, costumes were more costly, the crowds more precisely drilled. But though the scenes were more attractive to the eye, the result seemed less to touch the heart. 1 "I wondered whether the change was not in myself, till I remembered the audience of 1870, all sobbing, and I contrasted it with that of 1900, where scarcely anyone shed a tear. It seemed to me that the later representation was on a lower plane; that smartness had banished simplicity, and an appeal to popularity had dissipated pathos." The "appeal of popularity" is rather strongly suggestd by an article in the current "Church Mews." We are told here that since the last repetition, the sanitary arrangements of the village houses have been improved, and | "electric light will be found every i where."' Then the Passion Play Committee have for the first time appointed official agents, to whom the public may apply for rrserv&tion of lodgings and seats for the play at the official rates. And. of course, these official agents prove to be Messrs Thos. Cook and Son. I-i 1871, the ! theatre was,for the most part open to J the sky. " sfou feel the breeze of the fresh summer morning; the swallows dart through the air, and the mists creep along the flank of the peak | which towers above." The new play- i house, which this year will seat four thousand spectators, is roofed over, except for the staging "left open to the sky and the mountains, to heighten the illusion." Visitors, in fact, are to be made very comfortable indeed, if that is any help towards making the 1910 play "a scene to live among the most solemn memories." 1