Year of foundation: 1538

Last performance: -

Next performance: -

Playing interval: Annual

Performances per interval: 10

Venue type: Theatre

Number of contributors: 1000

Website: www.lapassio.cat

E-Mail: info@lapassio.cat

Olesa de Montserrat (Catalunya)

The passion play in Olesa de Montserrat is the anonymous result of thousands of efforts with name and surnames.

If there is a place where tradition has become modern and has been made available to all, both old and young, this is "La Passió d’Olesa”. A representation that sinks its roots until at least 1538, but which is staged with great spectacle and a contemporary theatre language, all of which thanks to the constant and disinterested work of the thousands of people that make up the organization.

Olesa's Passion Theatre has one of the largest stages in Europe - more than 30 meters wide - and a technical equipment designed to make an agile and almost cinematic performance. Historically, Olesa's Passion has opted for an innovative dramaturgy, in all of its aspects, to maximize the agility of the performance and the link between scenes.

Additionally, the incorporation of a subtitle system in Spanish and English allows following the play at the same time in three languages ​​(Catalan on stage, Spanish and English subtitles).

The text of the play has always been in Catalan and the version that is currently represented in the passion play in Olesa was written by Joan Povill i Adserà, poet and playwright of Olesa. The music was composed by the maestro Josep M. Roma and recorded with digital technology for the Valles Symphony Orchestra and the Madrigal Choir, directed by Salvador Brotons, coinciding with the 50 years of its premiere. The staging, of great spectacle and with an important wealth of textures and materials, is the design of the Olesà stage designer, Pere Francesch, and it was premiered along with the new theatre in 1987.

In 2002, the Olesa Passion Play was the first passion awarded with "La Creu de Sant Jordi” (Saint George Cross), the highest distinction awarded by the Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalonia Government). The recognition was received for having been able to maintain the popular spirit of representation together with its evolution as a theatrical spectacle.