Amadeus

Amadeus is a 1984 American film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer, based on his own play. Vaguely inspired by the lives of composers Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, it narrates the rivalry between the two men, fueled by Salieri's envy of Mozart. The film received forty awards, including: eight Oscars, four BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, and a Directors Guild Award. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked Amadeus at No. 53 on its list of the 100 Most Iconic Films in American Cinema.

Plot

One night in 1823, the servants of the composer Antonio Salieri discover that their elderly employer has tried to cut his own throat, after confessing loudly to murdering Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Salieri is admitted to a sanatorium and is visited by a priest who wishes to confess him and offer him forgiveness from God, in whose eyes "all men are equal." Hearing this, Salieri confesses that since his childhood he had admired Mozart, a child prodigy that he interpreted for kings, emperors and even the Pope.

The young Salieri offers to God his chastity, his industry and humility, in exchange for God granting him to be a great composer, whose music will be loved and remembered forever. Soon after, Salieri's father, who was opposed to his son's musical call, chokes himself on a piece of food, and the young Salieri sees this as a sign that God has accepted his offering. Salieri follows his vocation, becoming court composer for Emperor Joseph II of Austria, as well as one of the richest and most respected musicians in Vienna. Salieri is happy and remains faithful to his vow with God.

In 1781, recalls Salieri, he attends an evening where he hopes to meet Mozart at his employer's house, and is horrified to discover that his idol is an obscene, mocking young man with a shrill laugh, to the point of hoping that Mozart's musical talent is an accident and not the work of God.

For his part, the Emperor decides to commission Mozart an opera for the National Theater, and Salieri composes a welcome march to receive him. Mozart enters into a tense relationship with Italian musicians: Count Orsini-Rosenberg and the Kapellmeister Bonno; but he finds favor with the Germans: Baron Van Swieten, the Chamberlain, and the Emperor himself, who orders that the language of the opera be German (much to the chagrin of the Italians). Mozart interprets, from memory, the welcome march that Salieri composed for him, and “improves” it until it becomes the theme of Non piu adrai. Salieri feels humiliated.

Mozart's opera, The Kidnapping in the Seraglio, opens to great acclaim, and the Emperor invites Mozart to stay in Vienna. However, there are two awkward moments, when the Emperor complains that the opera has "too many notes", and when Mozart's landlord reveals that his daughter, the young Constanze Weber, is the composer's fiancée, news that generates resentment. of the soprano Caterina Cavalieri, with whom Salieri is in love. Salieri understands that Mozart and Cavalieri had an affair, and prays to God that Mozart returns to his native Salzburg, but contrary to his father's wishes, Mozart marries Constanze and settles in Vienna.

The Emperor wishes to assign Mozart as his niece's musical tutor, but at Salieri's suggestion he decides to submit the position to a committee of composers. Mozart refuses to put his work in the hands of his Italian colleagues, and Constanze, without telling her husband, visits Salieri to ask for the job; to demonstrate Mozart's aptitude, Constanze presents Salieri with a selection of original scores. Upon discovering that, being original, they are the first and only drafts that Mozart has written, Salieri's envy grows, but also his admiration, since the music was written as if Mozart had it ready in his mind, with such perfection. that a single missing note would bring down the whole structure.

Salieri responds to Constanze that he is open to giving the job to Mozart, on the condition that she returns alone that same night, claiming that “some services require services in return”. That night, Salieri falls to his knees, begging God to enter into him and allow him to write a single truly inspired piece of music, but before he can finish his prayer, Salieri's servant announces that Constanze has returned. Constanze is willing to pay the price set by Salieri, but when she begins to undress her, Salieri calls her servant and orders her to show him out of her. Constanze returns to her house, hurt and humiliated.

That night, Salieri declares himself an enemy of God for having chosen an obscene and childish boy as his instrument, while he only allows himself to recognize said incarnation. Salieri burns his crucifix as a symbol of his renunciation of faith, and swears that he will do everything possible to ruin Mozart and thus take revenge on God.

Mozart, unemployed, receives a visit from his father Leopold, worried about his son's marriage, the mess in his house and the rumors that he lives in debt, something that Mozart dismisses as a lie; to top it off, Leopold discovers that Constanze is pregnant. To celebrate the arrival of his father, Mozart takes Constanze and Leopold to a costume party, which Salieri also attends, masked. Leopold, in a black costume with a mask and tricorn hat, asks his son to return with him to Salzburg, but Mozart ignores his request and continues to party, accepting the challenge of playing a melody on the harpsichord, in the style of different composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Gluck and Händel (whom he dismisses) and Antonio Salieri, something Mozart mockingly complies with, making Salieri a laughingstock. Unbeknownst to Mozart, it was Salieri himself who proposed his name, and although he considers Mozart's laugh to be God's laugh, he is convinced that he will have the last laugh.

Tensions between Leopold and Constanze grow worse and worse, reaching the breaking point when they receive a visit from Lorl, a young maid who offers her cleaning services, assuring that they will be paid for by an anonymous admirer of Mozart. Leopold does not agree to let her in, but after a fight with Constanze, for whom the decision is not up to him, Leopold decides to leave. It turns out that Lorl has been sent by Salieri as a spy, and thanks to the access she allows him, he discovers that Mozart is working on a new opera: The Marriage of Figaro, whose theme has been banned by the Emperor, due to its political implications. However, after an audience where the Emperor and his musicians (except Salieri) question his choice of theme, Mozart manages to convince the Emperor that his opera is just a comedy and even more so music like never before heard. before.

The Emperor authorizes the rehearsals, Salieri and his Italian colleagues plan a new attack on Mozart, denouncing the ballet given in the Third Act, because the Emperor has also banned the ballet. Count Orsini-Rosenberg rips out the pages of the score and Mozart, desperate, goes to Salieri to beg him to talk to the Emperor and convince him to allow the ballet, to which Salieri agrees. Of course, he never complies, but during a rehearsal, the Emperor himself shows up to watch, and being disgusted at how strange the dance looks without music, he requests that the ballet be reinstated. Mozart believes that it was thanks to Salieri's intervention.

The opera opens, and while Salieri acknowledges its greatness, he is pleased that it only ran for nine performances before closing. Mozart confides his frustration in Salieri, unable to understand how it could have failed if, in his opinion, it is the best opera written to date. Salieri finds that Mozart's music demands too much attention for the Emperor's lack of concentration, and invites him to his own opera, Axur, King of Hormuz , which the Emperor hails as the best opera written to date. the moment.

Mozart receives the news that his father has died, and immersed in sadness and guilt, he composes Don Giovanni, symbolizing Leopold in the figure of the Commander, demanding that the protagonist repent before that it's too late. Torn in two by his love of Mozart's music and his hatred of Mozart himself, Salieri acknowledges that he used his influence to cause the opera to fail, yet attended every performance of Mozart. he. Furthermore, seeing that Leopold's influence continues to be powerful over his son, Salieri discovers a way to destroy Mozart and defeat God.

By 1791, Mozart had fallen into alcoholism and his health began to decline. One night, he receives a visit from Salieri, disguised in the same black suit that Leopold used in the past, and is stunned with horror. Without revealing his identity, Salieri offers Mozart a large sum of money, in exchange for the composition of a requiem mass "for a man who deserved it and did not have it." Salieri's plan is to force Mozart to compose the requiem in order to later assassinate him and perform the requiem at his funeral, passing it off as his work.

At the same time, the singer and friend of Mozart's, Emanuel Schikaneder, persuades Mozart to compose The Magic Flute, something Constanze does not welcome, as the remuneration is doubtful. Mozart works on both works, under pressure from Schikaneder (who is shocked to learn that Mozart is writing a requiem) and from Salieri (who is shocked to learn that he is writing an opera). Fed up with her husband's alcoholism and debauchery and motivated by her mother, Constanze leaves home, taking her youngest son with her, shortly before Mozart premieres The Magic Flute , which receives a great reception from the public.

Near the end, however, Mozart collapses from exhaustion, and Salieri takes him home. Once there, Mozart thanks Salieri for being the only one of his colleagues to attend, and Salieri finally reveals to him: "You really are the greatest composer I know." Schikaneder arrives soon after to give Mozart his share of the winnings, and though he leaves, he is uneasy that Salieri is there. Salieri tells Mozart that the money came from the man who commissioned the requiem and that he will agree to pay him double if he has it ready for the next day. Mozart acknowledges that it is impossible, but Salieri offers to help him, and Mozart agrees.

As a remorseful Constanze prepares to return, Mozart and Salieri work together to compose the requiem, with Mozart dictating and Salieri copying. They work through the night completing the Confutatis , and at dawn Mozart, weak and ill, begs Salieri's forgiveness, embarrassed for believing that his colleague was not interested in him or his work. Salieri does not know what to answer. Soon after, Constanze and her son arrive home, where Constanze manages to reconcile with Mozart, now weak and unable to speak. However, Constanze is immediately surprised and upset to see Salieri in her house and asks him to leave, regretting that she has no servant to show him out of her house. Salieri argues that it is there with Mozart's permission, and upon seeing the requiem, Constanze takes the sheet music and locks it away on a shelf, out of Salieri's reach, and when she turns to her husband for his opinion With a shock, Constanze and Salieri discover that Mozart is dead.

Mozart is watched by his family and few colleagues (Salieri being one of them) and is taken to a cemetery, where he is buried in a common grave.

Back in 1823, the priest is horrified, having spent the entire night listening to Salieri's confession. The old Salieri accuses God of having preferred to kill Mozart, his own beloved, rather than give him, Salieri, even the smallest part of his glory; On top of that, Salieri considers that God has allowed Mozart to survive for thirty-two years to see how, with the passage of time, his music falls into oblivion while Mozart's music continues to be loved and remembered.

An attendant from the sanitarium enters the room to take Salieri to take a bath and have breakfast, and before he is taken away, Salieri comforts the priest, saying that he will speak for him and for all the mediocrities in the world, since he is its champion and patron saint. Salieri, led through the corridor, addresses the other patients, absolving them of their mediocrity.

Crossing his hands across his chest and closing his eyes, Salieri listens to Mozart's shrill laugh.

Cast

Production

Amadeus was initially a stage play written by British playwright Peter Shaffer in 1979. It premiered in London, with Paul Scofield as Salieri and Simon Callow as Mozart.

Ian Mckellen won the Tony Award for his incarnation of Salieri and Tim Curry was a nominee in 1980 for the corresponding Mozart. In the year 2000, the play was revived, and actor David Suchet was proposed as a candidate for the best actor award.

In 1981, Miloš Forman attended a Broadway production of Amadeus and left the theater disappointed. Forman hated movies and biopics of musicians because he found them deeply boring. However, after witnessing the first act, Forman approached a nervous Peter Shaffer (who knew of Forman's background and knew that he was at the show) and excitedly commented, "If the second act is as good as the First, I'll make the movie." The rest, as they say, is history. Both Peter Shaffer and Miloš Forman worked together for an exhausting four months in 1982 writing the script, though the credits ultimately only credit Shaffer as screenwriter.

The theatrical script differs in two very important aspects for the film:

• Salieri speaks to the public and not to a priest when he tells his story.

• The absence of music.

Miloš Forman rightly discovered while working on the script with Shaffer that the film version at the time featured a third character: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's own music. Forman suggested Shaffer extend the script, then showing entire scenes from Mozart's operas and music to further illustrate the intricate plot, resulting in a film with a script that is as strong in text as it is effective in its spectacle role..

Awards

1984 Oscars

1985 Golden Globes

Locations

• Amadeus It was shot mainly in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, which in the words of Forman himself «conserved the taste of the eighteenth century thanks to the inefficiency of communists». Vienna was also part of the scenarios. The opera scenes were filmed at the Czech State Theatre, the same place where Mozart premiered his opera Don Giovanni.

• The scenes of the asylum where Salieri was admitted were shot at the Prague Arms Museum.

• The palace scenes were shot in the Archbishop of Salzburg and the rest of the images on the streets of the same city.

The legend of Mozart's death

The plot of Miloš Forman's film revolves around Mozart, Salieri and the romantic legend of the death of this first composer. In real life, Salieri never even got to witness Mozart's death. It is true, however, that Mozart was commissioned to compose a requiem mass, the Requiem K.626 , which he was unable to finish due to his illness. The somewhat mysterious circumstances under which the work was born have given rise to a host of romantic legends.

Recent studies have shed light on this mystery. The truth is that Count Franz von Walsegg, a great fan of music and who used to offer musical evenings at his house, commissioned the requiem.

On February 14, 1791, the count's young wife, who had not yet turned 21, died. In honor of her, Count von Walsegg wanted to have a special requiem composed that would be premiered in her house at her funeral. Thus, he himself ordered one of his servants to go and make this offer to Mozart, but he wanted to keep the whole matter secret. This explains why the count's servant appeared covered and hooded when he went to the composer's house. In the end it was discovered that the count intended to proclaim himself the sole author of the funerary composition he had commissioned and thus cover himself with glory in front of his colleagues.

Mozart began the composition during the last months of his life and even came to believe that he was writing the requiem for his own funeral due to delusions of the disease, which made him believe that Death had granted him a notice so that he could compose his latest piece of music.

He began to worsen rapidly on December 4, 1791 as he was finishing the passage of ''Lacrimosa''. That same day, some friends met at his house and performed said passage a capella , while the composer was in bed. The next day, he died peacefully in his bed, at age 35. According to the doctors and the reports of the time, he died of acute rheumatic fever, although then the rumor began to circulate that he had died poisoned by some envious composer, a fact that could never be proven.

On December 6, the corpse was blessed in the cathedral of Vienna and then it was taken to the cemetery of San Marcos, located 5 kilometers from the city, where it was buried.

His wife Constanza was unable to provide him with a niche or tomb, due to the financial difficulties their marriage was going through. When she finally wanted to put a tomb for her husband's body, the gravedigger did not remember where he had buried it, a mystery that still remains unsolved today.

Myths and facts

It must be emphasized that the intention of both Shaffer and Forman was not to make a biography or documentary on Mozart; instead, the idea was to create a fantasy based on a myth popular in the 18th and 19th centuries (Mozart vs. Salieri), in order to present the true theme of the work: man against God. In this way, the film builds a great myth that for some followers of Mozart was even offensive and there were protests against the role that the production company had taken, since it had allegedly contributed to damaging Mozart's image and degrading its status. from musical genius to lucky stupid. Protests aside, the truth is that Amadeus shows a cinematically exciting and effective Mozart.

Some differences with reality are:

• Antonio Salieri was a very respectable musician in Vienna, and even more acclaimed than Mozart. Wolfgang was regarded as an unrecognized musician and therefore could not work so easily, as well as his novel ideas did not marry the interests of the bourgeoisie. This situation led Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg to say that Mozart used too many notes. Salieri, for his part, used to openly recognize Mozart's work and felt neither threatened nor despised by him. The myth of his confrontation is created from Leopold Mozart saying in a letter: "Salieri and his acolytes would do whatever it was for Mozart not to succeed in Vienna."

• Salieri not only offered his chastity to God, as it appears in the film, but married Therese von Helferstorfer, had seven daughters and several lovers, among whom was the actress and singer Caterina Cavalieri, who does appear in the film, although he does love Mozart.

• The little Salieri was introduced into the music following the example of his older brother (not mentioned in the film). Unlike the hostile treatment and interests of Salieri's father to his son in the film, who apparently hates music, in reality his vocation was supported and funded by it.

• The sense of the acute humor Mozart had is historically documented, as well as his laughter as a child. However, aspects such as Mozart being part of the Freemasonry are not mentioned in the film.

• When in the movie Mozart is at a costume party and is asked to touch something of Händel, Mozart says he doesn't like it, however the historic Mozart was a great admirer of Händel.

• After Mozart married Constanza Weber, his father Leopoldo (who always opposed the marriage of both) limited himself to maintaining a communication with his son via postcard and never visited them again.

• Salieri, due to his position as a court composer, could hardly have contact with Mozart and even less with Constance, so they never intimately related as portrayed in the film.

• The piano composition that Mozart interprets when he came to the emperor Joseph II and that Salieri supposedly wrote in fact is of Mozart, specifically the aria "Non piú andrai", of The weddings of Figaro.

• Emanuel Schikaneder sought Wolfgang to offer him writing The Magic Flavor when he moved through Vienna's taverns and was alone, as Constance had moved to Baden for a while to take care of his fragile health, and not at the theatre where Schikaneder presented himself to the opposition of Constance. In addition, both musicians were passing at that time by a very bad streak, so the association came wonderful to both of them.

• Mozart did not usually write on a billiard table, although it is right that the ideas came to him while playing with his friends this type of precision games. Something that is not mentioned, but it is quite explicit visually, is that Mozart had some addiction to bets, something that worsened his economic situation.

• In the film, Mozart is reluctant to teach classes; in reality this happened in a contrary way, as the luxury of rejecting a salary that was essential to him could not be allowed.

• In the film, Mozart falls apart and dies hours after the premiere The Magic Flavor. The historical Mozart apparently suffered a slight fainting during the premiere of that opera, however he was able to finish running the premiere, in addition to giving some more presentations himself for a few months, before falling sick in bed to never recover. He died three months after the premiere of his last opera.

• Franz Xaver Süssmayr, Mozart's apprentice, was the one who took dictation of the Réquiem while he lay in bed and not Antonio Salieri.

• Mozart died after a long agony that lasted for days, being in his last few hours unable to even speak. He died accompanied by his doctor, some students and his wife and children. Therefore, in real life, Antonio Salieri did not witness the death of his contemporary.

Soundtrack

Sir Neville Marriner conducted the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields on a comprehensive soundtrack featuring themes by Mozart, Pergolesi and Salieri. Below, among others, are the pieces shown in the film:

• Symphony No. 25 KV 183 of Mozart.
• Klavierstück in F 33b of Mozart
• Stabat Mater Pergolesi.
• Gypsy music from the early 18th century.
• Wind serenade n.o 10 KV 361 from Mozart.
• Turkish final The rapture in the serrallo Mozart.
• Symphony No. 29 KV 201 of Mozart.
• Concert for two pianos n. 10 KV 365, first move, Mozart.
• Kyrie de la Great Mass in minor do of Mozart.
• Concertante symphonyMozart's first move.
• Piano Concert n.o 22 KV 482, 3.♪Mozart.
• The weddings of Figaromovements of the III and IV act of Mozart.
• Don Giovanni, Mozart's final scene when Mozart's father dies.
• ZaideAria, Mozart.
• The magic fluteAria de la Reina de la Noche (Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen), Aria de Papageno and Dueto de Papageno y Papagena.
• Réquiem KV 626: Introitus, Dies Irae, Rex Tremendae, Confutable and LacrimosaMozart.
• Concert for piano n.o 20 KV 466 by Mozart.
• Axur, King of OrmuzSalieri ("They are queste le speranze", aria for soprano and final number).