Amadeus (R)

synopsis

Described by Shaffer as "a fantasia based on fact," Amadeus was inspired by persistent rumors in the early 19th Century that Mozart had been poisoned by his rival Salieri, a successful court composer driven mad by the revelation of his own mediocrity when compared to Mozart's God-given genius. Transcending both Salieri and Mozart are the universal themes they represent: the relationship between man and God; the difficulty of serving a God whose ways are often perceived as irrational, perverse and mockingly cruel; the confrontation of genius and mediocrity; and as in the tragic case of Mozart, the sad spectacle of a towering genius poorly rewarded and pushed to destruction by society.

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synopsis

Described by Shaffer as "a fantasia based on fact," Amadeus was inspired by persistent rumors in the early 19th Century that Mozart had been poisoned by his rival Salieri, a successful court composer driven mad by the revelation of his own mediocrity when compared to Mozart's God-given genius. Transcending both Salieri and Mozart are the universal themes they represent: the relationship between man and God; the difficulty of serving a God whose ways are often perceived as irrational, perverse and mockingly cruel; the confrontation of genius and mediocrity; and as in the tragic case of Mozart, the sad spectacle of a towering genius poorly rewarded and pushed to destruction by society.