In 2025, the Erl Passion Play will break new ground in terms of content, music and personnel. With director Martin Leutgeb, composer Christian Kolonovits and stage designer Hartmut Schörghofer, outstanding personalities are at work.
With more than 400 years on its back, the Erl Passion Play is the oldest in the German-speaking world. In 2025, after a six-year wait, around 600 amateur performers from Erl will once again take to the stage to perform the life and suffering of Jesus Christ in the Passion Play House in front of tens of thousands of spectators.
Erl Passion Play 2025
The renowned Tyrolean actor and director Martin Leutgeb (among others "The Dark Valley") brings a breath of fresh air to the approximately three-and-a-half-hour (new) production with his newly written text. Leutgeb, who in the course of his career has already been artistic director at the Staatstheater in Stuttgart, but also knows the world on stage and in front of the camera very well, takes on his new task full of enthusiasm. His vision is to take viewers on a quest for the fundamental values of Christianity. "Why the Passion of Christ? What connects us to it? We get to the bottom of many of these questions. I hope that we will succeed in making charity tangible and that everyone will find themselves on stage somewhere."
The creative team of the Passion Play Erl 2025 © Passion Play Erl
Leutgeb's work is musically staged by Christian Kolonovits, a true icon of the (inter)national music industry. The accomplished musician and conductor has already worked with greats such as Placido Domingo and promises a composition that will surprise audiences with never-before-seen musical elements. "The music I've written is certainly not easy, but it's exciting, sensual and fun," says Kolonovits, hoping for the participation of many passionate musicians from Erl. As a child, he himself lived in the Vatican for half a year, he had a "big chunk of this Christian energy left" and it was an honor for him to accompany the Passion musically.
"A real enrichment"
In terms of stage design and lighting design, the Passion Play has another consummate professional at its side in Hartmut Schörghofer, who knows the Passion Play House inside out, as he works as technical director for the Tyrolean Festival. Elke Einberger also worked there for a long time as a costume mistress – at the Erl Passion Play, she therefore plays an equally important role as costume manager for a successful production.
Karl Anker, chairman of the Passion Play Association since 2021, is delighted with the commitment of the well-known participants: "The demands on the Passion Play in Erl are extraordinarily high. The fact that we have found such outstanding personalities as enthusiastic actors for the coming year is a real enrichment for us. Most of all, we are looking forward to the hundreds of people who – whether young or old – will play the leading role on stage together and make the Passion Play a unique experience."
The two Jesus actors in 2025: Christoph Esterl and Stefan Pfisterer © Oberhuber & Kuen Kommunikation
Two Experienced Jesus Actors
At the centre of this dynamic interplay of tradition and innovation are the two main actors Christoph Esterl (36) and Stefan Pfisterer (31), who will alternately play the role of Jesus. Both can undoubtedly call themselves "veterans", as they have been part of the Passion party since early childhood. Still on stage as Petrus in 2019, Esterl now sees the preparation as a thoroughly positive challenge: "I've never worked so intensively with a role. The biggest task will be to fully engage with it and to implement the emotions precisely."
As an adult, Pfisterer worked behind the scenes as a technician for a long time. The fact that he will now be in the spotlight as a central figure is an "incredible feeling" for him: "When the request came, I was overwhelmed, I was foolishly happy and knew immediately that I really wanted to do this." It is a great honour to be able to work with such professionals as Martin Leutgeb and Christian Kolonovits.
Acquisition in the old tradition
With the start of rehearsals in autumn 2024 and the premiere on May 25, 2025, the entire community has eventful months ahead of it. The next step will be to assemble the 600-member ensemble. To this end, the committee of the Passion Play Association traditionally goes from house to house from Easter to the end of May to personally ask the people of Erl if they would like to play. After that, it says: Haircuts and shaving are forbidden, because for the duration of the Passion Play season, the performers are no longer allowed to go to the hairdresser.
Get your tickets now
Advance ticket sales for the "greatest story of all time" have already begun and the anticipation is palpable throughout the town. Erl is once again preparing to welcome audiences from all over the world and to open a new chapter in the centuries-old history of the Passion together.
25 May to 4 October 2025
www.passionsspiele.at
