Amadeus

Introduction

Peter Shaffer's "Amadeus", one of the oldest dramas ever to grace Broadway stage, has returned. But it's better than ever?

The play is a story about jealousy, Antonio Salieri, the most famous composer of his time; he felt that the young upstart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose true genius only Salieri (a vision Schaeffer) can appreciate. In the end, Salieri became so obsessed with a superb mastery of Mozart, that on his deathbed, he babbled incoherently that he had murdered Mozart more than thirty years ago. He has gone mad, of course. Or was he? This is a historical mystery that involves Shaffer to unravel in his imaginative retelling of the tale. Along the way he engages in a fascinating meditation on the urge for perfection and glory, that many of us feel, and mediocrity, to which most people - present company accepted, of course - is doomed.

The current production of "Amadeus", under the assured direction of Peter Hall, it is not just a revival, however. Shaffer has revised the script, subtly but convincingly, to produce a new "Amadeus" at the millennium.

Character Analysis: Antonio and Allen Pontes

The action revolves around Mozart and his music, the central character of his lesser-known rival, Antonio Salieri. In age and crazy, Salieri confessed to murdering Mozart. In this memory play, Salieri tells his story in flashback, beginning with a young compact; he suggested that "God deals." Salieri would lead a chaste and perfect life, if only God will allow him to proclaim the glory of the divine through music.

A fine cast of 19 headed by a brilliant triple. As elegant Salieri, Allen Pontes illuminates the complexity of nature, which is engaged our sympathy, even pity, while we condemn his behavior, and he does it all with grace and precision, we normally associate with British actors - while ...