Amadeus

At the opening of the tale, Salieri is an old man, having long outlived his fame, and is convinced he used poison to assassinate Mozart. Speaking directly to the audience, he promises to explain himself. The action then flashes back to the eighteenth century, at a time when Salieri has not met Mozart in person but has heard of him and his music. Salieri is a kid who loves music and has grown up hearing about the genius of Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's dad adores him & takes him all over Europe to make Mozart perform in front of kings and popes. Salieri's dad in contrast does not encourage him at all. But one fine day, Salieri's dad chokes on his food and dies & thus marking the true beginning of Salieri's music composition career. Soon Salieri is appointed the court composer & has immense powers in terms of determining the futures of musicians in all of Vienna. 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. 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. When Salieri first meets him, Mozart is crawling around on his hands and knees, engaging in profane talk with his future bride Constanze Weber. Salieri cannot reconcile Mozart's boorish behavior with the genius that God has inexplicably bestowed upon him. 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 renounces God and vows to do everything in his power to destroy Mozart as a way of getting back at his Creator. The king of Austria commissions Mozart to perform & Opera & Mozart surpasses everyone's expectations with a brilliant piece which is applauded by the King. Salieri is angry as Mozart casts Salieri's girlfriend Catarina in the Opera (without Salieri's permission). After the performance Catarina comes to know that Mozart is engaged to Constanze & she is angry. Salieri realizes that Mozart has slept with Catarina. Soon thereafter Mozart marries Constanze despite his father's express instructions to hold off the wedding. Throughout much of the rest of the play, Salieri masquerades as Mozart's ally to his face while doing his utmost to destroy his reputation and any success his compositions may have. The King wishes to appoint Mozart as the musical trainer for his daughter & Salieri convinces the King to compose a committee for selection for which all composers must submit their work. Mozart refuses & is denied the job. 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. Constanze shows Mozart's work to Salieri to get him to consider Mozart for the job in the court. Salieri is mesmerized by the samples of Mozart's work but asks Constanze to sleep with him before giving the commission to Mozart. Constanze arrives that night, but when she disrobes, Salieri summons his servants & asks them to show her out & then smears Mozart's character with the Emperor and the court, hence nobody would give work to Mozart as a music instructor to their wards. Then Salieri sponsors a maid to work in Mozart household (as Mozart is broke & can't afford one) & does so anonymously. He instructs the maid to let him in when the Mozart's are out so that he can look at the super-secret composition that Mozart has been working on, one that he claims will revolutionize music in all of Europe. Salieri looks & realizes that Mozart is composing an Opera on a French play Figaro, which has been banned by the King. Mozart is summoned to the courts. In the middle of fierce opposition, he is able to convince the King that the play is not political & Opera elevates the play to the level of an art. He gets the go ahead from the King. Then Salieri tries to sabotage the opera by imposing a fictitious royal order not to have ballet in the Opera, which would cause Mozart to junk the whole thing. But the King surprises everyone by attending the rehearsal & approves of the whole thing. But Salieri uses his influence to ensure that the Opera is performed only 9 times & is only a moderate success. The next Opera written upon Mozart's father's death is an absolute masterpiece in Salieri's own admittance. But he again limits the financial success to only 5 shows. Mozart falls into more and more financial troubles. But he keeps on working on his opera's constantly surprising Salieri. In the poverty of his life, Constanze decides to leave Mozart & go to her mother. Interacting with her mother, gives Mozart the inspiration for his next masterpiece. He collapses during the performance & Salieri steps in to take care of Mozart when he is without his wife. 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. Salieri helps Mozart to finish a death opera, which he himself had commissioned Mozart to write (in anonymity). The Death opera is loosely based on Mozart's complex relationship with his father & it makes him very sick. While writing the Opera through the night, with Salieri in attendance, Mozart dies. The play ends with Salieri attempting suicide in a last 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.