Amadeus: Fact vs. Fiction
The movie Amadeus directed by Miloš Forman deals with the main idea of the rivalry between the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. The director displays the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri as far more intense than it actually was, with Salieri going as far as to admit his wish to kill Mozart. In reality, the rivalry between the composers was much more formal and less deadly than what is depicted in the movie.
Mozart vs. Salieri
Forman uses many different moments between Mozart (played by Tom Hulce) and Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) to drive the plot and make the rivalry apparent. Many of these moments never actually occurred between Mozart and Salieri. Although very intriguing and entertaining, the plot of Amadeus is rather far-fetched. The plot of the three hour-long epic is based around the immense hatred that Antonio Salieri possessed towards Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart. This hatred from Salieri, as far as anyone has been able to tell, did not even exist. Although it has been found in Mozart’s letters that Emperor Joseph’s court had in fact stunted Mozart’s growth in his career (in the movie Salieri was pivotal in the prevention of Mozart teaching the Princess of Württemberg; however, in reality, the reasons for Mozart not getting the job is unknown), which was depicted in the movie, and that the Italians in the court had supposedly followed Salieri, there is no absolute proof that Antonio Salieri possessed such a great hated for Mozart, let alone wished for his death or planned to organize it. One would have to agree, however, that this idea that Salieri wished wanted Mozart dead drove the plot and made for a very interesting film. Another instance of the movie deviating from the real events is when Salieri worked with the other Italian musicians to prevent The Marriage of Figaro from being played. Although the Italians of the court were influential in this, Salieri’s involvement cannot be confirmed. In fact, there is not any indication that Mozart and Salieri were not friendly towards each other in reality. Catarina Cavalieri plays a key role in Salieri’s hatred of Mozart in Amadeus. In the film, it is made apparent that Salieri is attracted to her. Soon after the audience’s realization of his attraction for her, she is shown singing in Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. This greatly angers the jealous Salieri.
Historical Accuracies in Amadeus
What Amadeus does a very good job of accurately portraying is the controversy surrounding Marriage of Figaro in the court of Vienna. The controversary consisted primarily on the play that Marriage of Figaro was based on. Emperor Joseph had banned the play and originally would not allow Mozart’s libretto to be shown. Mozart was able to convince the emperor, however, to allow him to perform the opera. There is also evidence that supports the scene in Amadeus where Count Rosenberg rips the ballet scene from the music, saying that Emperor Joseph would not allow ballet in his theatres. No strong evidence, however, has been found to support that Emperor Joseph had even banned ballet. The scene was performed in the end.
Requiem in D Minor
Mozart’s Requiem plays another pivotal role in driving the end of the plot and solidifying Salieri’s hatred for Mozart. As the story goes, in the middle of 1791, the year in which Mozart died, Mozart was visited by a mysterious masked stranger possessing a letter commissioning a Requiem from Mozart. Mozart agreed to write the Requiem but put its production to a halt when was offered to write what would become the La Clemenz di Tito.
In the film, the mysterious stranger is Salieri, who planned to anonymously commission Mozart to write the Requiem so that once he had killed him, he could take credit and play it during Mozart’s service. Salieri is also seen in the end of the movie writing the Requiem while Mozart dictates it on his death bed. In reality, Mozart actually had one of his proteges complete the Requiem.
While in reality Salieri had no part in the commission or the writing of the Requiem, not all of what is depicted is false. The person who commissioned the Requiem did in fact intend to take credit for it. In the end, he fooled no one.
In Conclusion
Although there are many historical inaccuracies in the movie Amadeus, with some scenes and elements of the plot being completely made up or real stories and occurrences being bent to fit into the movie, and others retaining some of their truths, there are other points of the movie which do justice to the life and stories of Mozart. Although rather fictionalized, the plot is very intriguing and entertaining, and warrants the movie’s three-hour runtime. It does a great job of getting the viewers interested in the life of Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart, and what about the movie had actually occurred in his life.