1/2 star
Unpopular opinion alert!!!
Amadeus is very much inaccurate, immensely immature, incredibly inconsistent, and a hot mess that has had a negative impact on how we perceive the legacies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. Salieri's reputation was perhaps far more shattered, because he is viewed as an envious murderer, where as we still see Mozart as a renowned and brilliant composer and not the incompetent man-child that this play depicts his having been.
This play is told from the perspective of Antonio Salieri, an Italian composer that moved to Austria to teach and compose music. It starts with his recollecting the events in a wheelchair on his last leg in life, having lost his mind and being placed in a sanitorium (these details are true) and recalling how he met Mozart and the work in which they engaged. Mozart is depicted as being brilliant with music, but he is portrayed in such a deprecating way that makes him out to be childish. It has been said that some of his actions WERE childish, but not in the way that he would randomly make fart noises at inappropriate times and spout the names of child's terms for bodily fluids. He did have a scatological sense of humor, but this was mainly depicted in his letters and in musical numbers that he only shared with friends (such as one that translated to "lick my arse").
The major inaccuracies within this play, aside from what is mentioned above, were that:
1.) There is no evidence that Salieri murdered Mozart or engaged in anything that can be viewed as foul play involving his death.
2.) The two were rivals, but in a professional sense. If anything, Mozart was likely more jealous of Salieri because...
3.) Salieri was actually more successful than Mozart during their lifetimes, especially as a teacher. As per Fandex, Salieri was in great demand as a teacher and Beethoven was one of his students. Schubert and Liszt studied under him as well. Mozart, on the other hand, had issues keeping a stable job and had to make ends meet by selling his music, give lessons, and borrow money from his friends.
4.) Mozart's laugh was created by Tom Hulce for the 1984 film adaptation.
I do not have an issue with blowing characters out of proportion as long as it does not defame or create a dishonest view of who they are as people. For instance, the way Kenny Rogers was depicted on MAD TV was hysterical, but we all know that he was not a bumbling, loud, raunchy alcoholic. When approaching this play, the intent is that we view them as actually being like this in real life. The worst part is that it is incredibly inconsistent. The one moment Mozart is having a serious discussion with Salieri and in the next he is making fart noises. The same can be said about Constanze being concerned about what others think of the game of "cat and mouse" she is playing with Mozart, but in the next, she "shrieks with amusement" (page 15). The way the Venticello were inserted was incredibly annoying. They reminded me of the anchovies in Spongebob. Speaking of which, an episode of Spongebob has a more consistent storyline and is more bearable than this play. Peter Shaffer does admit that this play was intended to be written as a drama rather than solely on fact and I give him credit for incorporating fact to some extent. It is still inaccurate in a deprecating way, though, and the fact that he wrote this six times is very telling.
It is an absolute sin that this renowned play was written about a fictional, deadly jealousy that Salieri had for Mozart rather than the potential eccentricities that Mozart may have possessed, incorporating what is primarily actual information. A play based around Mozart may have been a safer option with Salieri in a supporting role, but this is what we get.
The most helpful thing that this play did for me was remind me that I need to make my way through the Mozart content that is part of my book collection. I own a few books about composers in general and the Mozart biography written by Maynard Solomon. Reading a biography about Antonio Salieri may also be in demand as well. This is a prime example as to why I am hesitant when it comes to historical fiction. Of course, some historical fiction is bound to be inaccurate, but this play was grossly so and did so much harm to the way that we look back on Mozart and Salieri.