Playbill, 1981

Amadeus is the title of a stage play written in 1979 by Peter Shaffer, loosely based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. A play, or stageplay, is a form of Literature written by a Playwright, almost always consisting of Dialogue between Fictional characters A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (born May 15, 1926) is an English Dramatist, author of numerous award-winning plays several of which have been filmed A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Antonio Salieri ( 18 August 1750 &ndash 7 May 1825) was an Italian Composer and conductor. Amadeus was inspired by Mozart and Salieri, a short play by Aleksandr Pushkin (later adapted into an opera of the same name by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov), and was itself later adapted into the film Amadeus. Mozart and Salieri ( Моцарт и Сальери, Motsart i Sal’yeri) is a one-act Opera in two scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov ( Николай Андреевич Римский-Корсаков, Nikolaj Andreevič Rimskij-Korsakov) also Nikolay Amadeus is a 1984 drama directed by Miloš Forman. Based on Peter Shaffer 's stage play Amadeus, the film

The title refers to a name that Mozart often used (he was baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart) as a pen name. A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity It is a Latinization of the Greek Theophilos, which Mozart in turn sometimes Germanized as "Gottlieb". Various people have been known by the name Theophilus or Theophilos, which means "Friend of God" in Greek and is thus similar to the Latin word Amadeus Gottlieb (God-inherited is a German name that may be used as surname and given name All three names translate to "beloved of God" or "God-lover" (hence Shaffer's decision to title his play Amadeus, a reference to Salieri's relationship with God in the play and his perception of Mozart's musical gifts as a sign of divine favor).

The play makes use of Mozart's music (as well as that of a few other composers, including Salieri). Antonio Salieri ( 18 August 1750 &ndash 7 May 1825) was an Italian Composer and conductor.

Plot

Since the original run, Shaffer has extensively revised his play, including changes to plot details; the following is common to all revisions.

At the opening of the tale, Salieri is an old man, having long outlived his fame, and is convinced he is the assassin of Mozart (by poison). Antonio Salieri ( 18 August 1750 &ndash 7 May 1825) was an Italian Composer and conductor. He then speaks directly to the audience, promising to explain himself. The play then flashes back to the late eighteenth century, at a time when Salieri has not met Mozart in person, but has heard of him and his music. He adores Mozart's compositions, and is thrilled at the chance to meet Mozart in person, during a salon at which some of Mozart's compositions will be played. A salon is a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through When he finally does catch sight of Mozart, however, he is deeply disappointed to find that Mozart's personality does not match the grace or charm of his compositions: Mozart is crawling around on his hands and knees, engaging in sexual talk with Constanze Weber (who later became his wife). Constanze Mozart (born Constanze Weber) ( 5 January 1762 in Zell im Wiesental, Germany &ndash 6 March 1842

Salieri cannot reconcile Mozart's boorish behavior with the massive genius that God has inexplicably bestowed upon him. A genius is a person of great Intelligence or remarkable abilities in a specific subject who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and/or ability especially Indeed, Salieri, who has been a devout Catholic all his life, cannot believe that God would choose Mozart over him for such a gift. Salieri rejects God and vows to do everything in his power to destroy Mozart.

Throughout much of the rest of the play, Salieri masquerades as Mozart's ally to his face, while at the same time doing his utmost to destroy his reputation and any success his compositions may have. Reputation is the opinion (more technically a social evaluation of the public toward a Person, a group of people, or an Organization. On more than one occasion it is only the direct intervention of the emperor himself that allows Mozart to continue (interventions which Salieri opposes, and then is all too happy to take credit for when Mozart assumes it was he who intervened). Salieri also humiliates Mozart's wife when she comes to Salieri for aid, and smears Mozart's character with the emperor and the court. A major theme in Amadeus is Mozart's repeated attempts to win over the aristocratic "public" with increasingly brilliant compositions, which are always frustrated either by Salieri or by the aristocracy's own inability to appreciate Mozart's genius.

The play ends with Salieri attempting suicide in a last pathetic attempt to be remembered, leaving a false confession of having murdered Mozart with arsenic. He survives, however, and his confession is disbelieved by all, leaving him to wallow once again in mediocrity.

Historical background

Shaffer took dramatic licence in his portrayals of both Mozart and Salieri, but there is debate as to just how much. Artistic license (also known as dramatic license, poetic license, narrative license, licentia poetica, or simply license) is a colloquial Documentary evidence suggests that there was some antipathy between Mozart and Salieri, but the idea that Salieri was the instigator of Mozart's demise is not given academic credence. While there may have been real rivalry between Mozart and Salieri, there is also evidence that they enjoyed a relationship marked by mutual respect. ^[1]

Mozart

Surviving letters by and about Mozart give examples of his boorish and often crude sense of humour, with a penchant for coprophilic jokes (shown in the film), which was shared by his mother, at least in their letters to one another. Coprophilia (from Greek κόπρος kópros - excrement and φιλία filía - liking fondness) also called scat, is the Paraphilia Mozart was extremely childlike, almost never able to sit still, even during others' performances. He was self-confident to the point of arrogance and his stubbornness and penchant for juvenile indulgences often annoyed his more staid peers. His sense of humour can be seen in some of his compositions, such as the canon Leck mich im Arsch (literally "Lick me in the ass"; idiomatically "Kiss my ass". Leck mich im Arsch is a canon in B-flat major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K An idiom is a Phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal Definition, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only )

Extant records show Mozart was not a good money manager and suffered from large debts (he loved clothing and spent huge sums on it) and also favored partying, drinking, gambling and possibly other drugs. As portrayed in Amadeus, Mozart actually comes off as fairly tame. Mozart's relationship with his father as portrayed in the film seems to be accurate, judging from the subtext of their letters to each other. Subtext is content of a book play musical work film video game or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters (or author but is implicit or becomes

David Cairns called Amadeus "myth-mongering" and argued against Shaffer's portrait of "two contradictory beings, sublime artist and fool" in favour of a "fundamentally well-integrated" Mozart. David Cairns is a British journalist non-fiction writer and musician He also rejects the "Romantic legend" that Mozart always wrote out perfect manuscripts of works already completely composed in his head (or "noodle," to use Shaffer's word), citing major and prolonged revisions to several manuscripts.

As for the film's key performance of "The Magic Flute", Mozart did not collapse on the first night, nor did Salieri take him home and transcribe the Requiem Mass. Salieri and his mistress, Katerina Cavalieri (shown in the film as Mozart's pupil and probable lover), attended at least a few performances of "The Magic Flute" together.

As for the Requiem, Hildesheimer points out that one or more of Mozart's pupils and/or friends helped him transcribe it, as he became too sick to write. There is still no solid conclusion on how much Mozart actually wrote, especially in certain parts, such as the "Lacrymosa".

Recent studies suggest that Mozart died of some form of rheumatic fever (possibly aggravated by overwork and heavy drinking), and not from any poison. Rheumatic fever is an Autoimmune inflammatory Disease which may develop two to three weeks after a Group A streptococcal infection (such as A similar fate befell Felix Mendelssohn who also demonstrated prodigal gifts for composing - and, like Mozart, did not survive to his 40th birthday. Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3 1809 &ndash November 4 1847 was a German Composer

Production

Amadeus was first presented at the National Theatre, London, in 1979, directed by Sir Peter Hall and starring Paul Scofield as Salieri, Simon Callow as Mozart, and Felicity Kendal as Constanze. David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE ( 21 January 1922 &ndash 19 March 2008) was an English award-winning actor of stage Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE (born 15 June 1949) is an English stage, Film and Television Actor Felicity Ann Kendal, CBE (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress who is well known in the United Kingdom for her It later transferred in modified form to the West End, starring Frank Finlay as Salieri. Francis "Frank" Finlay, CBE (born 6 August 1926) is a British stage film and television Actor.

Amadeus premiered on Broadway in 1980 with Ian McKellen as Salieri and Tim Curry as Mozart. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE (born 25 May 1939 is an English stage and screen actor the Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946 is an English Actor, Singer, Voice actor, and Composer, as well as having a career as a It ran for 1,181 performances^[2] and was nominated for seven Tony Awards (best actor for both McKellen and Curry, best director for Peter Hall, best play, best costume design, lighting, and set design for John Bury), of which it won five (including a best actor Tony for McKellen). The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented John Bury might refer to John Bury (theatre designer (1925-2000 British theatre designer J

Mark Hamill was cast as Mozart in the 1983 Los Angeles production. Mark Richard Hamill (born September 25, 1951) is an American Actor, Comedian and Voice actor. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West

Adam Redfield and Terry Finn appeared as Mozart and Constanze Mozart, respectively in the 1984 Virginia Stage Company production. Teresa JoAnn Bernadette 'Terry' Finn is an American Actress. Best known for creating the role of Gussie Carnegie in the original Broadway cast of the Stephen Constanze Mozart (born Constanze Weber) ( 5 January 1762 in Zell im Wiesental, Germany &ndash 6 March 1842 Performed at the Wells Theatre in Richmond, the drama was directed by Charles Towers. This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The play was revived in 2000, and received Tony Award nominations for best revival and best actor (David Suchet). David Suchet (pronunced "soo-shay" /ˈsuːʃeɪ/ OBE (born 2 May 1946 is an English Actor, known for his work on British

To celebrate Mozart's 250th birthday in 2006, BBC Radio broadcast an eight-part first-person adaptation (by Neville Teller) of Shaffer's play as read by F. Murray Abraham in the narrative role of Salieri. Fahrid Murray Al-Ahmad Abraham ( Arabic: ﻱﻴﺵ ﺞﺜﺙ ﻙﻘﭪ ﭐﭖﺏ (born October 24 1939) is an Academy Award -winning American ^[3]

The 1984 film version of Amadeus starred F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart, with Elizabeth Berridge as Constanze. Amadeus is a 1984 drama directed by Miloš Forman. Based on Peter Shaffer 's stage play Amadeus, the film Fahrid Murray Al-Ahmad Abraham ( Arabic: ﻱﻴﺵ ﺞﺜﺙ ﻙﻘﭪ ﭐﭖﺏ (born October 24 1939) is an Academy Award -winning American Thomas Edward Hulce (born December 6, 1953) is an Academy Award -nominated Tony Award - and Emmy Award -winning American Elizabeth Berridge (born May 2, 1962) is an American film and theatre actress known for playing Constanze Mozart in the 1984 film Amadeus The play was thoroughly reworked for the film by Peter Shaffer in collaboration with the film's director Milos Forman, in order to make it more cinematic, and to add scenes not found in the play. Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (born May 15, 1926) is an English Dramatist, author of numerous award-winning plays several of which have been filmed Jan Tomáš Forman (ˈjan ˈtomaːʃ ˈforman born February 18, 1932) better known as Miloš Forman (ˈmɪloʃ ˈforman is a Czech-American

In 2004, a modified production of Amadeus premiered in Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania at the historic playhouse. Mount Gretna is a Borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The considerably shorter production was directed by Will Stutts, Mount Gretna Playhouse's artistic director. The show was stage managed by Joseph Borkovich and featured Robert Campbell (Asylum 11) as Mozart. Dan Olmstead (Philadelphia, The Manchurian Candidate) played Salieri. Duffey Westlake (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Anchorman) played one of the Venticelli.

On July 20, 2006, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented a production of the latest revision of the play at Hollywood Bowl. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil LAP or LAPO is an American Orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States The Hollywood Bowl is a famous modern Amphitheatre in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles California, USA, that is used primarily for music Performances Neil Patrick Harris starred as Mozart, and Michael York as Salieri; Leonard Slatkin conducted the Philharmonic. Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15 1973 is an American Golden Globe - and Emmy -nominated Actor. Michael York, OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; March 27, 1942) is an English Actor. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1 1944 is an American

It was performed in December 2007 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. This production was unique as it was performed on the Crucible's thrust stage. Director Nikolai Foster reportedly contacted Peter Shaffer for consultation on changing his stage directions of Amadeus, to adapt to the new stage. Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (born May 15, 1926) is an English Dramatist, author of numerous award-winning plays several of which have been filmed The ending of the production was also edited. In the original script, Salieri dresses as the mysterious, grey figure who commissions the Requiem Mass and goes to see Mozart. At the end, Mozart pulls off the mask Salieri wears and discovers him. In this performance, Salieri goes to visit Mozart, but never pretends to be the figure, and simply ends up confessing.

Differences between the play and movie

Shaffer and Forman spent a considerable amount of time rewriting the play into a movie. While the play focuses primarily on Salieri, the movie shows both composers as full characters. Some scenes were shot for the movie, but not used. Some of these made it back into the movie in the Director's Cut.

The following is a small selection of differences between the play and the movie.

References

1. ^ A. Peter Brown, "Amadeus and Mozart: Setting the Record Straight".
2. ^ McKellen's web site
3. ^ BBC Radio article concerning reading of March 2006

See also

• Amadeus (film)
• Mozart's name
• Death of Mozart

External links

• Amadeus at the Internet Broadway Database
• Analysis of Amadeus - the play and the film