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meteordustCatching up on posts I've been meaning to make.
So way back in January, I went to see Amadeus at the Sydney Opera House. Mostly because Michael Sheen was in it! He played Salieri, while Rahel Romahn played Mozart, and Lily Balatincz played Constanze. (Interestingly, Michael Sheen played Mozart in a production when he was younger.)
The Concert Hall had been renovated just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Opera House, and it looked and sounded pretty good. L and I had seats way up the back, so the performers had tiny faces and you couldn't see their expressions. But their voices projected clearly, and you could easily follow the action onstage.
L and I had both watched the movie a long time ago, so we were familiar with the storyline. I hadn't known back then it was based on a play.
It felt really fitting to see excerpts of the various operas in the Opera House. The costumes and staging were spectacular. And I liked the liberal use of other languages, with Italian, German, and French.
I was very impressed with the energy and emotion of the performers. Two hours and fifty minutes of absolute intensity. And having to do that every single day.
It was an emotional journey. Salieri hating this rival who he sees as unfairly talented and revoltingly immature, and yet he's the only one who can appreciate the genius of his music. Mozart's downfall into wretched poverty through Salieri's sabotage of his career, all while pretending to be his friend. Salieri still dissatisfied and empty afterwards. And Mozart finally gaining fame and recognition after his death, and Salieri generating the rumours of poisoning, to link himself to that fame forever.
Differing philosophies: Salieri sees music as a gift from God, while Mozart believes the composer makes the audience God, bringing the voices and hearts of people together.
There was one significant difference at the end: in the movie, Salieri appears to Mozart in the guise of a masked Death, and lets him die believing it. In the play, Salieri confesses the truth and expresses his remorse. I think I prefer that they have that moment of repentance and resolution between them.
So way back in January, I went to see Amadeus at the Sydney Opera House. Mostly because Michael Sheen was in it! He played Salieri, while Rahel Romahn played Mozart, and Lily Balatincz played Constanze. (Interestingly, Michael Sheen played Mozart in a production when he was younger.)
The Concert Hall had been renovated just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Opera House, and it looked and sounded pretty good. L and I had seats way up the back, so the performers had tiny faces and you couldn't see their expressions. But their voices projected clearly, and you could easily follow the action onstage.
L and I had both watched the movie a long time ago, so we were familiar with the storyline. I hadn't known back then it was based on a play.
It felt really fitting to see excerpts of the various operas in the Opera House. The costumes and staging were spectacular. And I liked the liberal use of other languages, with Italian, German, and French.
I was very impressed with the energy and emotion of the performers. Two hours and fifty minutes of absolute intensity. And having to do that every single day.
It was an emotional journey. Salieri hating this rival who he sees as unfairly talented and revoltingly immature, and yet he's the only one who can appreciate the genius of his music. Mozart's downfall into wretched poverty through Salieri's sabotage of his career, all while pretending to be his friend. Salieri still dissatisfied and empty afterwards. And Mozart finally gaining fame and recognition after his death, and Salieri generating the rumours of poisoning, to link himself to that fame forever.
Differing philosophies: Salieri sees music as a gift from God, while Mozart believes the composer makes the audience God, bringing the voices and hearts of people together.
There was one significant difference at the end: in the movie, Salieri appears to Mozart in the guise of a masked Death, and lets him die believing it. In the play, Salieri confesses the truth and expresses his remorse. I think I prefer that they have that moment of repentance and resolution between them.
