As a young man, Antonio Salieri knelt before God and prayed: make me into a famous composer! In return, he promised to live a virtuous life and praise God until the hour of his death. By 1781, Salieri had become the composer at the Habsburgs court, and his career was on the rise when the prodigy Mozart arrived in Vienna – a vain ladies’ man and foul-mouthed boor, through whose music the voice of God was heard. Salieri does not understand why God has chosen the sinner Mozart to be the one through whom he would reveal himself. Disappointed, Salieri renounces his promise to God and declares war on him. What causes a person to destroy that which he considers to be most sacred?
Peter Shaffer’s play „Amadeus“ was first staged at the London National Theatre in 1979. The 1984 film based on the play (directed by Miloš Forman) won eight Oscars.