The Greek Passion - schedule, program & buy tickets

Music drama in four acts

First version (1957)
Libretto by the composer

In English with German and English surtitles

What if the boundary between theatrical performance and everyday life were to disappear? In Lykovrissi, Greece, the village community comes together to name the cast of the next Passion Play. The first conflicts arise, as not everyone is happy with their assigned character. But when a group of refugees seeking protection arrive in the village, the planned play takes a back seat and Christian values such as charity put the community to the test off-stage.

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The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) succeeded in creating a metaphor with his last stage work The Greek Passion, based on the novel The Recrucified Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis, which shows human action and perhaps also failure in the most poignant way. The work should have been premiered in 1959, but was not performed in Zurich until two years after Martinů's death. It deals with an unconditional search for humanity: a reminder to ourselves not to close our eyes to people who need help.

The music is characterized by impressively designed choral passages. In addition to the singing, the spoken word also has a decisive, commentary function. Oratorio-like moments are interwoven with various styles such as Greek folk tunes, sounds from Martinů's Bohemian homeland or Byzantine church music.

Subject to change without notice.