Amadeus

The historical Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was an extremely productive composer born in Salzburg (in what is now Austria) whose compositions have lived on after his death to make him one of the most famous composers in history. Shaffer’s Mozart, as shown through Salieri’s eyes, is not only a divinely gifted composer but also an uncultured, amoral fool. Mozart was a child prodigy, having composed his first concerto at the age of 4, his first symphony at 5, and his first full-length opera at the age of 14. Salieri meets Mozart at a party when the composer is 25 years old. According to Salieri’s vision of the composer, Mozart is vulgar and childish. Mozart’s relationship with his father is tumultuous, and Salieri exploits this to take on the role of a father figure to ruin Mozart’s life. Mozart has an unfortunate habit of expressing rude opinions loudly, especially after drinking, and sleeping with his female students even though he is married to Constanze Weber. In the end, Mozart dies penniless, forsaken by society and composing furiously, of renal failure that is exacerbated by exposure to the cold when he cannot afford to heat the apartment he shares with his wife and newborn child.

The two Venticelli (Venticello 1 and Venticello 2) serve as the voices of gossip and scandal throughout the play. Since Amadeus is historical fiction, these two characters undercut the idea of historical accuracy. They are metaphorical characters, standing in for popular society and countering any illusion of realism in the play. They show that this is a story based on rumor, not historical fact. Of course, the rumors are imagined by the playwright and not founded in evidence about gossip in the time period. In the end, the Venticelli also control the historical narrative. When Salieri finishes telling his story and attempts suicide, the Venticelli are the ones who stand up and discount his claims about murdering Mozart. 

Count Von Strack’s official title in the emperor’s court is the groom of the Imperial Chamber and the royal chamberlain. He is German and very concerned with the propriety of art that is commissioned by and produced for the emperor. Von Strack, initially scandalized by Mozart’s unconventional subject matter in his operas, becomes the young composer’s enemy when a drunk Mozart rails unapologetically against Italian opera. He, along with Count Orsini-Rosenberg, Baron Van Swieten, and Salieri conspire to ruin Mozart’s career.

Count Orsini-Rosenberg is the Director of Imperial Opera, and works with Baron Van Swieten, Count Von Strack, and Salieri to destroy Mozart’s reputation. He is particularly offended to learn that Mozart has decided to write an opera that takes place in a harem and attempts to use his position in the emperor’s court to shut the production down. Orsini-Rosenberg tries to ruin the opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, by enforcing the emperor’s rule forbidding ballets in operas, but the emperor steps in and allows Mozart to produce the opera without the cut. After the performance, Orsini-Rosenberg criticizes the composition as having “too many notes” (37), betraying that he may not actually be particularly musically-literate, despite his position.

Baron Van Swieten, the emperor’s prefect of the Imperial Library, participates with Count Orsini-Rosenberg, Count Von Strack, and Salieri in the destruction of Mozart’s career. Van Swieten defines the role of opera as “here to ennoble” (65) all of society, including the emperor, and therefore deems it inappropriate to compose an opera that depicts drudgery and the lower classes rather than the divine or elite. He is also a freemason and becomes particularly enraged when he sees Mozart’s The Magic Flute, offended that Mozart dared to stage masonic rituals, even in disguise. Van Swieten’s blacklisting of Mozart becomes the final nail in the coffin of his career. Although Van Swieten pays for Mozart’s burial, he sends the famous composer to a mass unmarked grave after a pauper’s funeral.

Constanze Weber Mozart, based on Mozart’s real wife (1762-1842), meets Mozart when he is renting a room from Constanze’s mother. Although Mozart’s father strongly opposes the match, Mozart defies his wishes and marries her anyway. When the audience first sees Constanze, she is giggling and pretending to be a mouse while Mozart, as the cat, chases her around at a party. Shaffer’s Constanze is silly and easily swayed by Mozart to devolve into baby talk. She allows the Venticelli to touch her inappropriately at a party, only stopping when Mozart interrupts. She is also willing to (reluctantly) compromise herself for Mozart’s career when Salieri demands sex in exchange for recommending Mozart for the position teaching the princess. Historical scholars suggest that Shaffer’s less-than-flattering interpretation of Constanze is perhaps unfair.

Historically, Joseph II (1741-1790) was the Holy Roman Emperor beginning in 1765 and the ruler of Austria, which was part of the Roman Empire. He was also the brother of Marie Antoinette. Emperor Joseph loves music and frequently commissions compositions but does not have particularly sophisticated taste. Thus, he defers to members of his court, and Salieri in particular, in matters such as who to hire as the princess’s music teacher and whether to offer Mozart a position in court. When he sees Mozart’s opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, the emperor’s main critique is that it was too long. 

One of several silent roles, Katherina Cavalieri is a singer and Salieri’s student. Salieri loves her from afar at first, holding her on a pedestal as virtuous and innocent. When Salieri sees Katherina performing in Mozart’s opera, he is immediately convinced that Mozart has defiled her. In the second act, Salieri describes seducing her and taking her as his mistress. Mozart describes Katherina “an excessive girl. In fact she’s insatiable” (37).