Ready Reference Treatise: Amadeus

By Raja Sharma

“Amadeus” by Peter Shaffer was first performed in 1979. The play presents an extremely fictionalized version of the lives of the great music composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri.

According to the playwright, “Amadeus” was inspired by a short play that was written by Alexander Pushkin in the year 1830. The play was titled “Mozart and Salieri.”

The playwright has very skillfully and admirably used artistic license while portraying both Mozart and Salieri. It is generally assumed that there was some kind of antipathy between the two. It was also said that Salieri had instigated Mozart’s death, but the critics and scholars of the time did not take it seriously.

Ready Reference Treatise: Amadeus
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Major Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Dec 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311362247

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: Amadeus

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: Amadeus

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

Amadeus by Peter Shaffer was first performed in 1979. The play presents an extremely fictionalized version of the lives of the great music composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri.

According to the playwright, Amadeus was inspired by a short play that was written by Alexander Pushkin in the year 1830. The play was titled Mozart and Salieri.

Several famous pieces of music by Mozart and some other composers have been used in the play. The music keeps changing according to the changing scenes.

The play was the winner of the Tony Award for Best Play in the year 1981. The play was also adapted for the movie with the same name. The play was adapted by Shaffer. The movie was the winner of the Academy Award.

The playwright has very skillfully and admirably used artistic license while portraying both Mozart and Salieri.

It is generally assumed that there was some kind of antipathy between the two. It was also said that Salieri had instigated Mozart’s death, but the critics and scholars of the time did not take it seriously.

It is probable that there must have been a rivalry between the two men, but there are proofs that reveal that they respected each other. It is a known fact that later in his life, Salieri tutored Mozart’s son Franz in music. He was also the conductor of some of Mozart’s works, during Mozart’s lifetime and after his death.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The playwright made several revisions after the first performance his play. He also made some changes to the plot details; however, the following plot is common to all revisions.

As the play opens, Salieri is presented as an old man. He is past the time of his name and fame. He speaks directly to the audience. He declares that he has manipulated his position and fame to assassinate Mozart. He further says that he is going to explain himself.

At this point, there is a flashback that takes us back to the eighteenth century. Salieri and Mozart have never met in person. However, Salieri has heard of Mozart and his music. He really adores Mozart’s musical compositions.

When he gets a