AMADEUS caused PETE’S EYEBROWS to form a CATERPILLAR ARCH
The Dramatic Premise
It’s 1781 and Antonio Salieri is the court composer to Emperor Joseph II in Vienna. He wants, with all his heart, to be the conduit of God’s glory through music. But he is about to meet child prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Across the ocean, in the Americas, by the way, future Treasury Secretary, and hip hop muse, Alexander Hamilton has just secured his own command and fought in the Battle of Yorktown.
Back in Vienna, Salieri is disgusted to find that Mozart is little more than a vulgar imbecile. Why has God chosen to bless such a cretin with such transcendental musical genius?
Salieri concludes that God is mocking him for his pedestrian, formulaic musical style. He renounces God and vows to destroy young Mozart.
The Moment
Salieri reviews some sheet music prepared by Mozart. We are told, via Mozart’s wife, Constanze, that there are no copies. Salieri is baffled to find that the draft is pristine, with no false notes let alone any corrections.
The revelation that Mozart merely transcribes music which is already fully (and perfectly) formed in his head causes Salieri to fall to the ground and wail in anguish.
Performances
I, of course, knew Michael Sheen from his role as Tony Blair in The Queen and, more recently, for the viral video of his rousing call to arms to the Welsh football team which was so stirring that it made me yearn to be Welsh with the same passion that Salieri yearned to be God’s conduit.
Sheen was quite simply magnificent as Salieri. Surely, few greater dramatic performances have graced the Sydney Opera House since it opened 50 years ago. Sheen richly deserved the raucous standing ovation he received at the end of the show. It was a privilege to see his performance. I would have loved to see his interpretation of Mozart when he played that role over 20 years ago.
I also found Rahel Romahn convincing as an immature, yet brilliant, Mozart, although he didn’t have the same stage presence as Sheen. Lily Balatincz also did a fine job in the role of Constanze.
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(Originally posted on 1 January 2023.)
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