| Jedermann | |
|---|---|
 Cornelius Obonya [de] andPeter Lohmeyer portraying Jedermann and Tod at theSalzburg Festival in 2014 | |
| Written by | Hugo von Hofmannsthal |
| Characters |
|
| Date premiered | 1 December 1911 |
| Original language | German |
| Genre | Drama |
Jedermann. Das Spiel vom Sterben des reichen Mannes (Everyman. The play of the rich man's death) is a play by the Austrian playwrightHugo von Hofmannsthal. It is based on several medievalmystery plays, including the late 15th-century Englishmorality playEveryman. It was first performed on 1 December 1911 in Berlin, directed byMax Reinhardt at the Circus Schumann. Since 1920, it has been performed regularly at theSalzburg Festival.
God sends Death (Tod) to summon the richbon viveur Jedermann who is then abandoned by his friends, his wealth and hislover (Buhlschaft).
The play was conceived byHugo von Hofmannsthal in the tradition of medievalmorality plays, based onElckerlijc (ca. 1470) byPeter van Diest, the late 15th-century EnglishEveryman,Hecastus (1539) byMacropedius, andHekastus (1549) byHans Sachs.[1] It was first performed on 1 December 1911 in Berlin under the direction ofMax Reinhardt at the Circus Schumann (which later became theGroßes Schauspielhaus).
In 1917, an English language adaptation,The Play of Everyman, was performed at the Trinity Auditorium in Los Angeles and the Burbank Theater in Burbank, California, translated and adapted byGeorge Sterling with "Richard" Ryszard Ordynski, music byVictor Schertzinger. The Sterling adaptation was performed again in 1936 at theHollywood Bowl with music by Einar Nilson.
In 1920, it was performed at theSalzburg Festival, again staged by Reinhardt, and performed on the square in front of theSalzburg Cathedral.[1] It has been performed annually there,[2] except between 1922 and 1925 and during the years of theNazi annexation of Austria andWorld War II from 1938 until 1946.[3][4] Since then, the play has been performed there every year. Amongst the most famous actors performing the title role wereAttila Hörbiger,Curd Jürgens,Klaus Maria Brandauer,Maximilian Schell andGert Voss. As of 2019,Jedermann has been presented in 700 performances.[1]
The play has been made into a film at least eight times, including in 1958,[5] 1961,[6] 1970,[7] 1983,[8] 2000,[9] 2004,[10] 2010,[11] and 2013.[12] The 1961 filmJedermann, directed by Max Reinhardt's sonGottfried Reinhardt and filmed at the Salzburg Festival, was submitted as the Austrian entry for theBest Foreign Language Film at the34th Academy Awards, but it was not selected as one of the five nominees in the category.[13]
Media related toJedermann at Wikimedia Commons