TRAGEDY
"a medieval narrative poem or tale typically describing the downfall of a great man"
"a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force
(such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror"
– Merriam-Webster Online
'Amadeus'
Be it the play or the film adaptation, one cannot deny its cultural elements and of course the influential importance music plays in enriching the human experience. Upon watching the film, there is so much that a person can talk about: the music, the characters, the monarchy & it's internal politics, human nature, love & romance, etiquette & protocol, or even if you were a professional – the level of technique, control & precision behind opera singing...
I, for one, have very strong love-hate feelings towards this movie.
Partly because of certain character quirks that causes me to cringe each time they appear on screen
[e.g. Mozart's obnoxious laughter, the way Constanza's breasts looked whenever they were put on display, or the nauseating way Mozart & Constanza would interact with each other],
but mostly due to the fact that despite the number of elements present in this movie & of course dramatization, in the end it is undeniably a tragedy – not because Mozart died in the end, but because the film shows how men's greed & envy can & will ultimately become their own undoing.
Partly because of certain character quirks that causes me to cringe each time they appear on screen
[e.g. Mozart's obnoxious laughter, the way Constanza's breasts looked whenever they were put on display, or the nauseating way Mozart & Constanza would interact with each other],
but mostly due to the fact that despite the number of elements present in this movie & of course dramatization, in the end it is undeniably a tragedy – not because Mozart died in the end, but because the film shows how men's greed & envy can & will ultimately become their own undoing.
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| Mozart & his greed for money |
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| Salieri deranged & consumed by the guilt of his deeds towards Mozart |
Instead of giving the usual main breakdown, followed by a few extra points at the end, I shall do the reverse & throw a bunch of fun facts at you just for the sake of change.
Fun Facts:
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| "Most beloved father, remember how you told me Vienna is the city of musicians? To conquer here is to conquer Europe?" – Mozart |
- Vienna is known as the City of Music because of the number of famous composers born & attracted there (Wiener Tourismusverband, n.d.).
This begs the 'chicken-or-the-egg' question: Is it named as such because of the number of composers dwelling in it, or do the number of composers who produced music there lead to it being nicknamed so? 🐔↔🥚?
- Vienna is also said to be the City of Dreams as it was the home of the father of psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud (McNeil &Yule, 2007)
- Emperor Joseph II's sister that is mentioned in the film is none other than the famous Marie Antoinette – Queen of France who was beheaded after post-French revolution (Wagnletitner, Schreyvogl, & Rolder, 2008).
Hence, the banning of "The Marriage of Figaro" was done so in support of his sister.
- "The Marriage of Figaro" is second part of Pierre Beaumarchais's French trilogy, & is technically a comedy. The play publicly condemns the privileges of the aristocrats, and supposedly foreshadowed the French Revolution which lead to the downfall of Marie Antoinette (Beaumarchais, 2003).
A very superficial hypothesis for the reason why Emperor Joseph banned this play may be because he feared an uprising from his own people should they become self-aware of the underlying message behind the play, beyond the fact that it is merely a comedy. 😒
- Emperor Joseph was an advocate of 'enlightened absolutism', a form of absolute monarchy, which basically meant that the monarchy believed in rationality when exercising their power but they have the privilege of being above the law (Wagnletitner, Schreyvogl, & Rolder, 2008).
- 'Enlightened absolutism' is inspired by 'The Enlightenment', which is an intellectual movement that was prominent in Europe during the 18th century. One of the theories of origin behind the term 'enlightenment' is that it was from the German word "aufklären" = to illuminate (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015) .
For all the conspiracy theory nuts out there you could say that the emperor was a part of the Illuminati. Think what you may but I am not going down that rabbit hole. 🙅
- Additionally, Antonio Salieri isn't as "unsuccessful" or "inferior" as he was portrayed in the film. He had a few famous pupils actually, e.g. Liszt, Schubert & Beethoven (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007). Go figure. Don't you just love it when things are dramatized? 🙄
- The name Maria Theresia Paradis that was mentioned by Salieri in the film was in fact one of his students. She too went on to become a famous Austrian pianist even though she lost her ability to see when she was very young (Encyclopædia Britannica, n.d.).
As to the fact of why Salieri said that she was a young singer may be an obscure fact, her could be referring to another person by the same name, or just a simple mistake on the writer's part. 🤷
- The 1 thing that I couldn't really find information on is why there are Italian advisors in the German monarchy... A possible explanation is that they may be there as cultural advisors since there is a lot of talk of how "Italian is the proper language for opera". Technically he isn't wrong seeing as how opera originated from Italy at the end of the 16th century, & seeing how the term 'opera' came from the Italian language he does have a point (Weinstock & Hanning, 2017).
However, calling the German language musically unsuitable for the ears & throwing underhanded insults goes beyond pride for one's culture & is borderline ethnocentric.
Then again, the way the political battle to gain favour with the emperor just to stroke their egos is in my opinion very distasteful so I shall just leave it as it is.
"Italian is the proper language for opera.
All educated people agree on that."
– Count Orsini-Rosenberg
"German is ... too brute for singing"
– Kapellmeister Giuseppe Bonno
- 'Cattivo' – Italian for "naughty, bad". In this context, Emperor Joseph probably meant something along the lines of "cheeky" or "sly" (Collins Dictionary Online, n.d.).
"You are cattivo court composer."
– Emperor Joseph II
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| "Mozart is not entirely to be trusted alone with young ladies." – Antonio Salieri |
HUMAN DESIRES
Passion.
Nowadays you can't really get through any aspect of life without someone throwing that word around.
"Find a job you can be passionate about, then it won't feel like work!" – is what they say.
"Where's the fire? The passion?". It seems to be driving force, or at least what differentiates what we love to do with everyday mediocre tasks. Of course there are other factors that goes into cultivating & maintaining one's passion towards something, but what do you do when you've lost interest & no longer know what you're passionate about?
Do you continue your daily routine until that passion magically reignites itself in the form of something new? Or do you break away temporarily for some 'soul-searching' in hopes it'll rekindle the dying embers?
Talent.
What happens when you have a passion for something, but you lack the talent to pursue it? There is the option of working hard until you are well-versed in whatever it is that you wish to pursue, but then again there are many others like you who may be passionate about the same things but they are more "gifted" & thus are able to do it more easily. Or if you've been striving hard for a large part of your life to be successful in a field you are passionate, & one day a person who is much younger & much gifted enters the fray & wows everyone.
Would you graciously admit defeat? Would you shift focus towards learning from the person for the sake of self-improvement? Or would you do whatever it takes to ensure that you retain your position, even if it means eliminating the threat?
Pride & Greed
We all know what choice Salieri made.
Ever since he was a child he loved music, longed for it even. & when he was given the chance he managed to climbed the necessary ladders & earned himself a reputable position in the (then) music capital of the world in the service of royalty, all through hard work & dedication.
The person that he idolized before being presented with the opportunity to pursue his passion?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – child prodigy & had a father whom encouraged & nurtured his musical development since young.
So what happens when you finally get the chance to meet someone you've idolized, who was already successful since he was very young? You've probably got quite a number of expectations, some that might be skewed even. Well that was what Salieri experienced when he met the famous composer:
"That was Mozart! That ... That giggling, dirty-minded creature I'd just seen crawling on the floor!"
– Antonio Salieri
– Antonio Salieri
Whatever initial impression he had thought of Mozart went right out the window, & the impression formation process happends very quickly & often semi-consciously (Baron & Branscombe, 2012). His world had been shook. His idol was probably the complete opposite of what he had imagined, or at least hoped he was. Coupled with the realization that Mozart truly was talented, it was enough to drive Salieri mad... and it did, eventually.
You'd think when meeting royalty, or at least people of importance that Mozart would at least try to manage the impression he would make, but to Salieri's horror the second impression he had of Mozart was no better than the first (Baron & Branscombe, 2012). Not moments later, Mozart demonstrated that his looks are very deceiving, & that he is as talented as they say he is, which is probably why Salieri couldn't accept it.
"Why implant the desire... like a lust in my body, & then deny me the talent?
– Antonio Salieri
Salieri declaring "war" on God because of the perceived inequality
Honestly could you blame him? For a lot of people out there who've always had to work just to survive, get by or even get to wherever they are now, if they were to meet a character such as Mozart who had everything handed to him since he was young they'd probably feel very resentful too. A spoilt child who does not know what it means to work, who holds himself in high regard just because of his talent.
In the wise words of the Chamberlain:
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"Mozart. A little modesty might suit you better"
– Chamberlain
There is a reason why pride is the deadliest of the seven sins, & boy did Salieri have a lot of it... along with envy. However, his plan would not have worked accordingly, had Mozart been more thrifty with his spending & less choosy with his students, he wouldn't have ended in a situation where he'd be desperate for money .
Mozart & Constanze were a couple doomed from the beginning. Both lived pampered sheltered lifestyles, one very whimsical & the other demanding. Majority of their conversations revolved around money, money, & more money, & though try as she might Mozart's pride & stubbornness wouldn't cave in to reason. It wasn't until after she left him & that he was at his wits end did he finally swallow his pride & beg for money from a nobleman that he had walked out on previously. With all that was happening around them there is that inkling that they were both genuinely in love seeing as they stuck with each other through thick & thin, & though Constanze did leave, she still came back in the end.
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| Constanze returned from the spa moments before Mozart's passing. |
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| Their son staring at a coin |
I believe life should be lived in moderation, & to always practice the Golden Rule of the law of reciprocity (Flew & Priest, 2002):
"Treat others how you wish to be treated"
"Well,
there it is"
there it is"
References
Baron, R. A., & Branscombe, N. R. (2012). Social psychology (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Beaumarchais, P. C. (2003). The Figaro trilogy: The barber of Seville, the marriage of Figaro, the guilty mother (D. Coward, Trans.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Cattivo. (n.d.). In Collins dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/italian-english/cattivo
Encyclopædia Britannica. (2007). Antonio Salieri: Italian composer. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://global.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-Salieri
Encyclopædia Britannica. (2015). Enlightenment: European history. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://global.britannica.com/event/Enlightenment-European-history
Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Maria Theresia von Paradis: Austrian Pianist. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://global.britannica.com/topic/Maria-Theresia-von-Paradis
Flew, A., & Priest, S. (Eds.). (2002). A dictionary of philosophy (3rd ed.). London: Macmillan.
McNeil, M. (Producer), & Yule, E. (Director). (2007). Vienna: City of dreams [Motion picture]. United Kingdoms: BBC.
Tragedy. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tragedy
Wagnletitner, R. F., Schreyvogl, F., & Rolder, K. A. (2008). Joseph II: Holy Roman emperor. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://global.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-II
Weinstock, H., & Hanning, B. R. (2017). Opera: Music. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://global.britannica.com/art/opera-music
Wiener Tourismusverband. (n.d.). Vienna, the City of Music. Retrieved from https://www.wien.info/en/music-stage-shows/city-of-music
Zaentz, S. (Producer), & Forman, M. (Director). (1984). Amadeus [Motion picture]. United States: The Saul Zaentz Company.
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