“Everyone” anniversary: ​​800 times the death of a super rich in Salzburg

The Salzburg Festival would not be the Salzburg Festival without the “Jedermann” by festival co -founder Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929). Most of the time, the tragedy on the square in front of the mighty double tower facade of the baroque cathedral goes across the stage, “in bad weather in the big festival house”, as the program booklet puts it.

On Sunday (August 24, 200), the play “Everyone – the game of the dying of the rich man” will be listed in Salzburg for the 800th time as part of the festival.

Already 800 or only 800 performances in the past 105 years? That probably depends on the perspective. Every year there are only a few performances (in the past only 6 in summer, 2025 there are 16, including eleven at 9 p.m. and five at 5 p.m.), which is why the 800th performance took a while.

In any case, more time passed than at the ARD “crime scene”, in which the 800th episode was already a good 40 years and has already met 1,306 episodes after almost 55 years.

Okay, that’s television and something completely different, but when it comes to actor contingent, the “crime scene” is quite comparable to Salzburg’s “everyone”. Traditionally, the hottest stage artists of the German -speaking area play here.

20 main actors – including Brandauer and Eidinger

There have been a total of 20 everyone since 1920. Big names took the title role, among them were Attila Hörbiger, Maximilian Schell, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ulrich Tukur, Tobias Moretti and Lars Eidinger.

The current everyone is the Austrian actor Philipp Hochmair (51), to know the television viewer from the ORF/ARD series “blindly” or from the satirical Nobel district “Vorstadtweiber”.

In the play, a very wealthy man – as you might be said today: a super rich – is torn out of a self -satisfied party mood and warned to his near end.

While the Salzburg audience is mostly enthusiastic, many theater critics consider the open-air spectacle to be irrelevant folklore. The spirits have been divorcing on the long -running favorite for decades.

Role model medieval mystery games

Already at her premiere in Berlin in Berlin, directed by the legendary Max Reinhardt (1873-1943), this tragedy with its verses was very out of date. Late medieval mystery games served as a model.

In any case, in German -speaking countries it is seen as a high award for actors and actresses to be occupied here. Supporting roles are also striking and enable virtuoso representation, for example as everyone’s mother or thick and thin cousin.

The role of the Buhlschaft, the lover of everyone, has only around 30 sets (including “List on green boys, you are my Buhl and dear man”), but it creates great visibility in the theater. And she always encounters debates about the current female ideal of beauty.

Almost 40 boons – including Ferres and Reinsperger

Many popular film and television actors have already shown their skills, among them Nadja Tiller, Sophie Rois and Veronica Ferres, for example Stefanie Reinsperger, Caroline Peters and Verena Altenberger in the past ten years.

The current Buhlschaft is the Swiss actress Deleila Piasko (34), who know the TV viewers from the ARD mini series “Die Das Doubters” or from the ZDF series “The Shadow”, which addressed the Gaslighting psycho-phenomenon.

While only 20 everyone added up in 105 years, there were almost 40 different occupations in the boozeurs.

Senta Berger, Sunnyi Melles and Birgit Minichmayr went down in history as particularly impressive. Piasko is also a stroke of luck in the current staging of the Canadian director Robert Carsen (71).

Philipp Hochmair, who has already stepped in and celebrated in 2018, also fits perfectly, and who has been skillfully performing the “everyone” as a one-man piece and apocalyptic speaking concert for more than ten years (“everyone reloaded”).

Hochmair in Riege from Voss and Simonischek

Hardly anyone can speak the almost embarrassing, very pathetic verses so convincingly that they can still stir. Similar charismatic everyone like Hochmair were probably just Will Quadflieg, Curd Jürgens, Gert Voss and Peter Simonischek.

The youngest everyone ever – at that time 39 years old – was Nicholas Ofczarek from 2010 to 2012. His successor was Cornelius Obonya, who lasted 62 years after his grandfather Attila Hörbiger gave everyone, for 54 performances. His aunt Christiane Hörbiger often played the buhl shaft, his grandmother Paula Wessely often mimicked the “belief”.

Abstract terms such as “faith”, but also “death”, “devil”, “Mammon” and “works” (good acts) appear in “everyone” as personifications. Death bursts as a stage figure in everyone’s life, wants to lead him to the creator god. Neither his loyal servant nor friends nor his money want to accompany him in the crypt.

“The world is stupid, mean and bad”

Only the faith and his works (the good works are a very weak being on stage with this rich man) cause everyone to show remorse, to confess themselves as a Christian and to climb into the grave.

In the end, the devil is disappointed because he did not get everyone: “The world is stupid, mean and bad – and is always on violence – it is honest, loyal and wise – mastery and fraud.”