Tellspiele Altdorf

The Tellspiele Altdorf regularly stage Friedrich von Schiller's drama "Wilhelm Tell" ("William Tell") in Altdorf, a town in the Canton Uri, Switzerland. The recurrent cultural event attracts a wide audience.

History and Background

The idea to perform the William Tell story in Altdorf reaches back to 1512. The first performance of Schiller's "Wilhelm Tell" took place in 1899 on the initiative of the local male choir, staged in a theatre that was built only for that purpose. From then on, the play was performed on a regular basis.

Due to the Tell legend and to Schiller's play, the town of Altdorf is the site of the famous scene when the skilled crossbowman Tell succeds to hit with his shot an apple that was maliciously put on his son's head by Tell's adversary, Gessler.

Organisation

The society behind the event is the Tellspielgesellschaft, founded in 1898. While the Tellspiele performers are all amateurs and many tasks are taken on by volonteers, the way of working and the organisational structure of the Tellspiele resemble professional theatre in many ways.

Repertoire

The Tellspiele have committed themselves to performing Friedrich von Schiller's play "Wilhelm Tell", they don't stage other plays. The Tellspielgesellschaft lists productions in 1899, 1900, 1901, 1904, 1905, 1908, 1909, 1912, 1913, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 11985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2024.