ANALYSIS OF AMADEUS

This scene serves as a prologue to the main story of the play and lays out a foundation for other major aspects of the play. Among the characters involved in this play are Salieri and Venticelli, and the Citizens of Vienna.  The scene marks the beginning of the play and starts with whispers that fill the theater, with being unclear at first but then the words “Salieri” and “Assassin”. A chorus is a heard as the “Citizens of Vienna” fills the stage. On the stage is an old man seated in a wheelchair with his back turned to the audience. Two men, the Venticelli meaning little winds, come on start and start the narration. Their voices are loud enough to be heard on top of the whispers. The topic of discussion is a gossip about who killed Mozart, 32 years ago. Salieri who appears to be dying cries out loudly and declares that he killed Mozart, who was a famous composer. The Venticelli identify two servants who were the source of the rumor to confirm and give more details. Even when the Venticelli become insistent, the servants do not provide any more detail. Salieri suddenly shouts Mozart’s name and later begins to speak in Italian. The Citizens of Vienna leave the stage and Venticelli also follow suit. Salieri is left on the stage alone, where he faces the audience and addresses them in English calling them the Ghost of the Future and his confessors. He sits at a piano and plays a tune as an invocation seeking to call the ghosts to appear. Lights illuminate the audience while Salieri continues to address them and confesses the sin of gluttony. He talks about his childhood and how he grew up in the town of Legnago. The man recounts his urge of indulging in music. He explains how he prayed to God for Him to grant him an opportunity into the music industry. He believes that his prayers were answered when a family friend took him to Vienna and paid for his music lessons. It is from here that he ascended to power in the court of Emperor of Austria. The scene closes with Salieri being transformed into a younger version of himself (November & Allen, 2017). 

Venticelli; The props worn by these characters include an overcoat. They are dressed in elaborate clothing, with one being dressed in grey pants and a maroon waistcoat. The other appears to have a dress revealing part of his legs, stocking, and boots. The two Venticelli have hats on their head.  

Salieri

Antoine Salieri is dressed is also dressed in elaborate clothing commonly worn by musicians. He also has what appears to be a velvet overcoat tied at the waist. Salieri also has a white stocking and a white scarf tied on his neck. He also has black headgear. 

The Citizens of Vienna

On the stage, the Citizens of Vienna are dressed in elegant and elaborate clothing. Most of them have wigs on their heads. 

A line to analyze was the cry by Salieri, “Mozart! Mozart! Upon hearing this, the Venticelli pause in their narration as they appear to be pondering about that. They then question whether they believe that it was Salieri who killed Mozart but then introduces a doubt that maybe he might have been the one who did it. 

Act 2, Part 2

The scene here reveals the actions that move quickly and directly as Salieri makes the plan to destroy Mozart and denounce God. It continues to mark steps in his journey of transformation. In his early lie, his moral perspective would not have allowed him to engage in lies and dirty politics. Three crucial characters in this act include Mozart, Salieri, and Rosenberg.  

The scene is set at the home of Salieri that is richly furnished. A discussion is ongoing pertaining to Salieri’s successes, especially with his latest opera, that Mozart dismisses. Mozart makes his case on the change that he intends to bring about to the opera by making it lively rather than its current status as boring legends. He continues making his extravagant narration on his preference of the stories of gods and heroes and the reason why he believes that music is the perfect way of representing life. He later indicates that the show is over and that the rest is just scribbling and then goes off. Salieri explains the difficulty that he was experiencing in his attempts to block the production of Figaro, which Mozart had completed in six weeks. Rosenberg appears with news that the performance is approaching and there was no way to block it. Salieri explains an idea to him in Italian, which pleases him and he leaves. The scene then moves to show a meeting between Rosenberg and Mozart who makes a point to remind him that the ballets in his opera was against the rule and needed to be removed. Despite his protest, Rosenberg removes the pages and informs Mozart on the need of adhering to the imperial commands in the future. Mozart points out that all that was Salieri’s doing. Rosenberg promised to have the Emperor attend the rehearsal and decide whether the music should be included. Salieri also promises Mozart that he would talk to the Emperor, which apparently he did not have plans of doing it. However, the Emperor shows up at the rehearsal. The Emperor then declared that the music should be included in the opera. The Emperor also makes a recommendation on the part he expects to be removed. Salieri exclaims that the music was astounding while Mozart believes that it was the best opera over. The Venticelli took information to Salieri on how Rosenberg was angry at Mozart and was determined to get to him (Gale Group, 2001). 

Salieri

In this scene, Salieri is dressed elegantly in a goldish jacket with large black buttons. He is also dressed in stockings and black shoes. He also has a wig on his head.

Rosenburg

Rosenberg is dressed in a colorful coat with linings around the wrist that matched his waistcoat. He has an orange waistcoat and pants. He is also dressed in stocking and black shoes. On his head, is a wig.

Mozart

Mozart dressing includes brown pants and pinkish coat. His waistcoat has a creative pattern. He has stockings and black shoes on. Among the accessories worn by Mozart is a wig on his head.

Rosenberg: “The first performance will be on May the first. There is no way we can stop it.”  This information seems to have troubled Salieri as he exclaimed that, “so soon.”. He makes a sigh. His faces indicated a man who is troubled and in deep thoughts.  

References

Gale Group. (2001). A Study Guide for Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus”. November, N. R., & Allen, B. (2017). Framing an Interdisciplinary Approach to Film: Teaching Amadeus. Journal of Music History Pedagogy, 7(2), 56-80.