PL AYBILL
AMADEUS
BACKGROUND NOTES
You could say that playwright Peter Shaffer
was more Salieri than Mozart. A meticulous
craftsman, his best plays are the result
of continuous tinkering, reconsideration
and rewriting. In Amadeus, he began with
historical facts, using Mozart’s
correspondence and Alexander Pushkin’s
1830 poetic drama Mozart and Salieri
as primary sources. Shaffer was struck by
the contrast between Mozart’s error-
strewn, profane letters and the elegance
and command of his music. As the play
developed, he let go of literal history in
favour of a reimagined reality. What emerged
was this enduring portrait of a complex,
competitive relationship between two
famous, but very different men.
Shaffer’s Salieri is a devout Catholic,
a popular, established musician, and a by-
the-book composer adept at maintaining
his social position. Mozart is an upstart,
undisciplined, unconventional, a boor who
effortlessly creates celestial music of
blazing originality. Mozart forces Salieri
to face a truth that enrages him: for all his
devotion, God has only made him
illustration: paul blow
PETER SHAFFER
AMADEUS
a pproxim at e ru n ni ng t ime: 2 hrs & 50 mi n,
i ncludi ng one 20 mi n i nt er mission
a master, but He’s made a virtuoso of
heedless, godless Mozart. No matter how
hard he works, Salieri will never match
Mozart’s musicianship, or his brilliance.
This cosmic injustice eats away at him
until he can no longer bear it.
Shaffer’s knowledge of music is every-
where: in the operatic structure, the
opening that functions like an overture,
the fiery speeches that could be arias,
the word games between Mozart and
Constanze that resemble lyrics. Vividly
theatrical and surprisingly comic,
Amadeus is a rich exploration of the artist’s
life. Like Salieri, we all reckon with
mystery. Our questions will probably
never be answered. Genius can be
recognized but it always defies explanation.
It makes – and plays by – its own rules.
Background Notes by
2018 Soulpepper Resident Artist Paula Wing
CREATIVE TEAM AMADEUS

CAS T

Frank Cox-O’Connell John Ng Jennifer Villaverde

Venticelli 1/German Citizen Baron Gottfried Van Swieten/ Teresa Salieri/Citizen of Vienna/
Citizen of Vienna German Citizen
Miriam Fernandes
Citizen of Vienna/Giuseppe Bonno/ Colin Palangio Michaela Washburn
German Citizen/Karl Mozart Valet/German Citizen Venticelli 2/German Citizen

Katherine Gauthier Gregory Prest William Webster

Constanze Weber/Citizen of Vienna/  Joseph II/Citizen of Vienna/ Count Franz Orsini-Rosenberg/
German Citizen German Citizen Citizen of Vienna/German Citizen

Hailey Gillis Paolo Santalucia  Jeff Yung

Katherina Cavalieri/ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/ Cook/German Citizen
Citizen of Vienna Citizen of Vienna

Diego Matamoros Sugith Varughese

Antonio Salieri Count Johann Kilian Von Strack/
Citizen of Vienna/German Citizen

PRODUC T ION
Albert Schultz Kevin Lamotte Liesl Low
Director Lighting Designer Assistant Stage Manager

Mac Fyfe James Smith Ada Aguilar

Assistant Director Sound Designer Apprentice Stage Manager

Lorenzo Savoini Simon Fon Kelly McEvenue

Set Designer Fight Director Alexander Coach

Erika Connor Robert Harding

Costume Designer Production Stage Manager

SOULPEPPER PRODUC T ION

Andrew Leeke Geoff Hughes Lisa Nighswander

Technical Director Cutter Head of Properties

Sarah Noyes Barbara Nowakowski Greg Chambers

Head of Wardrobe First Hand Props Builder

Erika Connor Ellie Furtney Andy DeVries

Assistant Head of Wardrobe Emma Zulkoskey Head Carpenter
Dressers
Jacqueline Robertson Cull Bill Stahl
Head of Hair & Makeup Paul Boddum Carpenter
Head Scenic Artist
Ellie Furtney Brandon Moe
Ashley Gennuso Mattea Kennedy Production Assistant
Kiyomi Hidaka Scenic Painter
Stitchers

Amadeus is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production or distributing recordings of any
medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author's rights and actionable under United States copyright law.
For more information, please visit: www.samuelfrench.com/whitepaper.
BIOGRAPHIES AND TIDBITS
PLAYWRIGHT BIOGRAPHY
Sir Peter Shaffer was born in Liverpool
in 1906. He had a middle-class Jewish
upbringing and wrote domestic dramas
and light comedy at the beginning of
his career. His first big hit, Five Finger
Exercise came in 1958. Some classics of
his era followed: Royal Hunt of the Sun,
Equus, Black Comedy and, in 1979, Amadeus.
The latter was adapted (by Shaffer and
director Milos Forman) into an award-
winning film. Shaffer was knighted in
2001 and died at the age of 90 in 2016.
ANTONIO SALIERI BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1750, Salieri was celebrated in
his time, held top positions in the musical
world, composed fluently in three languages
and was a respected teacher. Liszt, Schubert
and Beethoven were among his pupils.
His works fell into obscurity until
Amadeus revived interest in them in the
late 20th century.
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1756, Mozart began playing
publicly at the age of six. He composed
sonatas, symphonies, masses, chamber
music, concertos and operas. He married
Constanze Weber and they had six children,
two of whom survived their infancy. One
of the greatest musicians who ever lived,
Mozart died at age 35 in 1791.
BIOGRAPHIES AND TIDBITS by 2018 Soulpepper Resident Artist Paula Wing
TIDBITS
• P
 eter Shaffer is responsible for the
second most famous stage direction
in theatre history, after Shakespeare’s
Exit pursued by a bear. The Shaffer
contribution is from Royal Hunt of the
Sun. It reads: They cross the Andes.
• The premiere production of Amadeus
starred a then-unknown Simon Callow
as Mozart, and the great stage actor
Paul Scofield as Salieri. Constanze was
played by Felicity Jones.
• T
 he 1985 film version of the play –
adapted by Shaffer and Milos Forman –
won eight Academy Awards, including
Best Film and Best Adaptation.
• I n 1970, Shaffer’s twin brother
Anthony, had a runaway transatlantic
hit with his play, Sleuth. It was made
into a film with Sir Laurence Olivier
and Michael Caine.
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