Amadeus (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Peter Shaffer
- First Published: 1980
- Type of Plot: Biographical; psychological
- Time of Work: 1781-1823
- Setting: Vienna
- Principal Characters: Antonio Salieri, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Constanze Weber, Joseph II
- Genres: Drama, Psychological drama, Biographical drama, History play
- Subjects: Values, Murder or homicide, Music or musicians, God, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Eighteenth century, Seventeenth century, Christianity, Kings, queens, or royalty, Composers, Austria or Austrians, Biography, Exceptional or gifted children or prodigies
- Locales: Vienna, Austria
The Play
Amadeus begins with the “savage whispers” and “snakelike hissing” of the Ventricelli, the two Little Winds who will appear throughout the play, spreading rumors. At first the sounds are indistinguishable, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and foreboding. Then the words “Salieri” and “assassin” emerge, followed by talk of Mozart’s death, or murder, and finally the questions that the play will attempt to answer dramatically rather than definitively: Did Salieri murder Mozart? If he did, why has he waited thirty-two years to make his confession?...
[The entire page is 3301 words long]
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