Stream: Amadeus
The 2017 revival of the multi award winning play by Peter Shaffer is a spectacular piece of musical theatre. It was mounted to mark the death of the popular playwright. Drawing inspiration from the 1832 play by Alexander Pushkin and the 1897 one-act opera by Rimsky -Korsakov, it explores the relationship between the B-list composer Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna in the late eighteenth century. Salieri, a virtuous court composer, turns to the dark side as he becomes insanely jealous of Mozart’s talent and does everything he can, within his power and influence, to jeopardise Mozart’s career. Though not proven, the myth remains that he poisoned Mozart who died at the young age of thirty-five and was buried in a common grave.
This is a seismic clash between the potty-mouthed Mozart, who was known to compose scatological compositions with friends, and the upright proper Salieri who had made a vow of virtue with God, indulging his only desires with gluttony. Michael Longhurst’s brilliant revival integrates the twenty strong Southbank Sinfonia, six singers and a cast of sixteen actors into a robust incarnation of the music obsessed society of Vienna at the time. He requires the musicians to move around the action, reacting to the scenarios, even lying down to play their instruments. They are the musical Greek chorus. Extracts from Mozart’s works are the background to the story of the key protagonists. Salieri, ably played by Lucian Msamati, is never offstage as we experience his despair as he realises that Mozart’s work is the conduit to the divine, he always desired in his own work. He has not got it! It is a strong and moving performance following in the footsteps of Ian McKellen, Paul Schofield, and Frank Finlay, not to forget F. Murray Abraham in the Oscar winning film. Adam Gillen plays the man- child genius with terrific agility and speed. The obscenities flowing out of his mouth became a little uncomfortably near a pastiche of Tourette’s syndrome. Karla Crome stands her ground as Constanze, Mozart’s wife, playing her as a shrewd Essex wife given to harsh giggling but able to deal with Salieri when needed. I loved her initial gown, featuring a brazen candy-striped bow as head dress, reflecting the later spending spree on outrageous luxury the couple were to indulge in before hard times hit.
The set design by Chloe Lamford superbly makes use of the Olivier’s unique revolving drum and revolve, sinking the orchestra into a central pit allowing the spectacular truck to move forward to create the illusion of an Opera House. The staging and choreography by Imogen Knight enhance the action making a welcome change from the worthy stand and deliver work recently seen. The integration of the orchestra and music, a lustrous performance by soprano Fleur de Bray and strong performances by the central players make this a proper evening of theatre. An all-round experience. It may not have pleased the purists but to me it reinforced my knowledge that Opera, Ballet and Theatre can be a horrible thing. How many talented artists are held back or destroyed by the envy of others who do not have their gift? As Max Bialystok says in The Producers ‘If you have it, flaunt it’, but beware the consequences. A palpable hit as far as I am concerned.
Stream for free on YouTube until the 23rd of July.
