Amadeus (drama)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amadeus is a play in two acts by Peter Shaffer in which the protagonist Antonio Salieri explains his role in Mozart's life to the audience - the “spirits of the future”. The struggle of a person with God is thematized on the basis of the person of Salieri, who feels that he has been treated unfairly by him, since he sees himself only as a tool to recognize Mozart's genius from his mediocrity.

content

1st act

The Venticelli wonder whether Salieri was Mozart's murderer and explain the situation in a two-way conversation. In November 1823, early in the morning, Salieri conjures up the spirits of the future and tells them his story: “MOZART'S DEATH! - WAS I OR WAS I NOT? ”. For this purpose he begins in 1781. He was thirty-one at the time, married and hoping as a composer for the position of court conductor Bonno. The Venticelli report that the twenty-five year old Mozart came to Vienna. In Schönbrunn it becomes known that the emperor commissioned Mozart with a comic opera in German. Salieri introduces the musical camarilla of Emperor Joseph to the audience . The protagonist is interested in Mozart, the person who worries him, and asks the Venticelli. He attends a concert by the young composer at Baroness Waldstädten and recognizes the music as a stroke of genius. He is seized with fear, but concludes from other scores he receives from the Venticelli that this one concert was just a coincidence and is reassured.
Then Mozart is supposed to go to the emperor. Salieri has composed a welcome march for this, which he lets Joseph play when the young composer walks in. It will be made known to those present. Then he presents his work The Abduction from the Seraglio and points out that “nothing embarrassing” occurs in it, but is limited to virtues - German virtues. He wants to express love, which he understands as such a virtue, and in doing so expresses himself derogatory about the conventions of Italian operas. As the first soprano, he introduces himself to Caterina Cavalieri , Salieri's preferred student, which fills her with jealousy. Then Mozart also criticizes the welcome march, which Salieri regards as a sacrilege.
On the day of the premiere, Salieri describes his experience and comes to the conclusion that Mozart had something with his preferred student. After the premiere, the emperor criticized that too many sheet music had been used for this opera. Mozart replies that he used as many notes as were necessary - no more and no less. Disappointed, he turns to Salieri for assistance. After the conversation, the latter decides to take revenge on Mozart for Caterina through Constanze - Mozart's fiancé. The composer asked his Venticelli about Mozart's living conditions.
Mozart is also invited to a party in Bonno's house, who drinks too much and makes a few misgivings.
Mozart gets angry when he catches Constanze in an ambiguous situation playing pawns with the Venticelli. The argument does not last long, however. When Salieri surprises the two and is finally alone with Constanze, she complains of the couple's suffering. She asks Salieri to intercede for her fiancé at court. The composer is shy and wants to talk to her alone about work samples the following day. He sees the time for his vengeance. When Constanze came the next day, he made clear comments about the consideration he would like for the position. Constanze is shocked and leaves him. Salieri becomes aware of the fiasco, looks at the work samples and is desperate about their genius. Angry about his own mediocrity, he now declares God his enemy, whom he wants to fight by destroying Mozart - obviously God's favorite.

2nd act

Constanze now offers to Salieri, who refuses. In the following conversation he recommends another man for the position at court. The Venticelli tell him about Mozart's desperate situation, while Salieri is doing "brilliantly". Mozart is planning a new opera with the theme: The Marriage of Figaro , in which ordinary people and not just heroes appear. He met resistance from the Musikkamarilla, and Salieri spun an intrigue to prevent the opera from being performed. During a rehearsal, the emperor personally - in ignorance of the author - thwarted the success of the intrigue, and so Salieri had to experience the premiere and hear his welcome march processed in it. He explains the piece to the audience and explains how they experience it. But the piece is canceled after a few performances due to lack of success.
During his departure for England and in the presence of Salieri, Mozart learned of the death of his father, whom he - as Salieri describes - immortalized as Commander in Don Giovanni . In Così fan tutte , Salieri recognizes Aloisia, the sister of Constanze Weber.
In order to secure a position for Mozart, the emperor appointed him Gluck's successor as chamber composer. Salieri persuades the emperor to pay Mozart only a fifth of Gluck's salary, whereupon Mozart is offended because he cannot support his family with it. Eventually Salieri is appointed as the successor to Kapellmeister Bonno. The Venticelli report rumors that Mozart had syphilis .
When Salieri learns that the Freemasons, of which both composers are members, are supporting Mozart financially, he forges an intrigue to withdraw this help too. He suggests to Mozart that the rituals of the Freemasons flow into his new opera The Magic Flute . After the premiere, which is also described by Salieri, there is a scandal: Baron Van Swieten withdraws all help from Mozart. In addition, Schikaneder, the impresario of the theater in which the Magic Flute is performed, cheated Mozart for his share of the revenue.
Constanze leaves Mozart because of the pressing financial need, from Salieri's point of view he is now finished. When the bandmaster heard rumors that his "weapon" against God had gone mad and realized that his talent had been lost, he went to see Mozart. The revelation comes to Salieris, who has thus completed his vengeance on God. Constanze comes back soon and is reconciled with her broken husband, who is only a shadow of himself and dies in her arms.
When Salieri hears of Mozart's death, he realizes that he drove him to his death. But slowly it dawns on him that God's punishment will be permanent for him: while still alive, he has to experience how he and his work are more and more forgotten, while the genius of Mozart and his work are becoming more and more popular and recognized.
After this discovery, which was disappointing for Salieri, the plot returns to the year 1823. Salieri spreads the rumor that he was Mozart's murderer. Disappointed and desperate about his own mediocrity, he cuts his throat with a razor in order to achieve Mozart's immortality as the murderer. He survived the suicide attempt, as the audience learns from the Venticelli. Finally, Salieri remains alone on the stage and gives absolution to all mediocre people.

people

  • Antonio Salieri
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Constanze Weber , Mozart's wife
  • Two Venticelli (German: Lüftchen ), Salieri's sources of information
  • Joseph II , then Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
  • Count Johann Kilian von Strack, chamberlain to the emperor
  • Count Franz Orsini-Rosenberg , National Opera Director
  • Baron Gottfried van Swieten , National Library Prefect and Mozart's connection to the Freemasons
  • Salieri's servant, confectioner, wife (Teresa Salieri), student (Katharina Cavalieri), as well as the conductor Bonno are silent roles
  • In addition, there are citizens of Vienna who also act as the lackeys who are responsible for stage alterations during the play

history

The world premiere of the play was in 1979 at the National Theater London, the German premiere in 1981 in Berlin (with Boy Gobert as Salieri). In 1984 the film was adapted by Miloš Forman with F. Murray Abraham in the lead role and Tom Hulce in the title role. (see Amadeus (film) ).

In 1985 the Viennese radio play director Götz Fritsch staged a 100-minute radio play version on behalf of the GDR radio with Georg Schuchter in the title role , which has enjoyed many successful broadcasts on ORF , ARD radio and Deutschlandradio to the present day .

expenditure

  • Peter Shaffer : Amadeus. Plays. German translations by several authors. Fischer Taschenbuchverlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, 688 pages