Shaffer, Peter: 1926-2016
Amadeus, 1981 - Information about the Book
- General Information
- The play, brought to life with the music of Mozart, is a tale of jealousy and betrayal…and perhaps even murder.
- Information from Wikipedia
- Information from StageAgent
- Facts
- Winner of the Evening Standard Drama Award as best play of 1979, and of the Plays and Players' London Theatre Critics Award.
- Characters
- Articles
- Analysis: "Shaffer allows us to see into the mind and imagination of Salieri as he schemes and plots Mozart’s demise."
- The theological interpretation: "Through Salieri's narration, which is built like a confession, the audience assumes a divine role, because it is asked to judge in God's place."
- The Cain and Abel motive: "Another biblical reference is to Mozart as the Prodigal Son."
- The Christ motive: "The title Amadeus, which can mean "love of God" or "beloved by God", would suggest that Mozart is a metaphorical son of God."
- Psychological and psychoanalytic elements: "The play shows two men of widely differing temperaments linked by a common spiritual bond"
- The conflict of personalities: "There is always a conflict between opposing elements: east and west collide; faithfulness is played against faithlessness, etc."
- The view of the artist: "One aspect of the play is the changing role of the artist in society. "
- Historical authenticity: "The play sometimes diverges from historical facts in order to explore more fundamental and universal human issues and to achieve a dramatic effect. Only on the surface does it appear to be a composer's biography."
- A Feud Between Bitter Rivals: "In the play, Salieri deliberately sabotages Mozart out of jealousy for a gift of a man he regards as amoral. However, there is no historical evidence of anything more than a friendly, artistic rivalry between the two composers." Marija Vucic; August 2, 2021