(''Everyman. The play of the rich man's death'') is a play by the Austrian playwright

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-cla ...

. It is based on several medieval

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

s, including the late 15th-century English

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

''. It was first performed on 1 December 1911 in Berlin, directed by

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most promi ...

at the Circus Schumann. Since 1920, it has been performed regularly at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

Plot

God sends Death (Tod) to summon the rich bon viveur Jedermann who is then abandoned by his friends, his wealth and his lover (Buhlschaft).

History

The play was conceived by

in the tradition of medieval

morality plays The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

, based on ''

Elckerlijc ''Elckerlijc'' (also known as ''Elckerlyc'') is a morality play from the Low Countries which was written in Dutch somewhere around the year 1470. It was first printed in 1495. The play was extremely successful and may have been the original so ...

'' (ca. 1470) by

Peter van Diest Peter van Diest (Latinised as Petrus Diesthemius) was a medieval writer from the Low Countries. The late-15th-century morality play ''Elckerlijc'' is attributed to him. ''Elckerlijc'', which was translated into English to become the famous ''Eve ...

, the late 15th-century English ''

'', ''Hecastus'' (1539) by

Macropedius Georgius Macropedius (born Joris van Lanckvelt; April 1487 – July 1558) was a Dutch humanist, schoolmaster and "the greatest Latin playwright of the 16th century." Biography Macropedius was born as Joris van Lanckvelt in Gemert (Northern Bra ...

, and ''Hekastus'' (1549) by

Hans Sachs Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German '' Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poet, playwright, and shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that was held in the chur ...

. It was first performed on 1 December 1911 in Berlin under the direction of

at the Circus Schumann (which later became the

Großes Schauspielhaus The Großes Schauspielhaus (Great Theater) was a theatre in Berlin, Germany, often described as an example of expressionist architecture, designed by Hans Poelzig for theatre impresario Max Reinhardt. The structure was originally a market built ...

). In 1920, it was performed at the

, again staged by Reinhardt, and performed on the square in front of the Salzburg Cathedral. It has been performed annually there, except between 1922 and 1925 and during the years of the Nazi annexation of Austria and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

from 1938 until 1946. Since then, the play has been performed there every year. Amongst the most famous actors performing the title role were

Attila Hörbiger Attila Hörbiger (21 April 1896 – 27 April 1987) was an Austrian stage and movie actor. Life Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger and the you ...

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in '' Des Teufels Gen ...

Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in '' The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto ...

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film '' Judgment at Nuremberg'', ...

and Gert Voss. As of 2019, ''Jedermann'' has been presented in 700 performances. The play has been made into a film at least eight times, including in 1958, 1961, 1970, 1983, 2000, 2004, 2010, and 2013. The 1961 film '' Jedermann'', directed by Max Reinhardt's son Gottfried Reinhardt and filmed at the Salzburg Festival, was submitted as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

34th Academy Awards The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope; this was the 13th time Hope hosted the Oscars. Legendary ...

, but it was not selected as one of the five nominees in the category.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

References

External links

* {{authority control Austrian plays German-language plays Death in art Fiction about personifications of death Religious literature Fiction about God 1911 plays Everyman Salzburg Festival

Plot

History

See also

References

External links