"I deliver perfection..." "and don't brag about it!" ":" "D" "Mozart!" "Mozart!" "Forgive your assassin!" "I confess, I killed you!" ""Sí", I killed you, Mozart." "Mozart, "pietá"!" "Forgive your assassin!" "Forgive me, Mozart!" "Signore Salieri, open the door, be good now!" ""Signore", we have something special for you." "Something you're going to love." "Is that good!" ""Signore", believe me this is the most delicious thing I ever ate in my life!" "Really, you don't know what you're miss..." "All right, that's enough!" "Open the door." ""Signore", if you don't open this door we're gonna leave nothing for you." "And I'm never gonna come see you again!" "Good morning, Father." "Herr Salieri?" "Leave me alone." "I cannot leave alone a soul in pain." "Do you know who I am?" "That makes no difference." "All men are equal in God's eyes." "Are they?" "Offer me your confession." "I can offer you God's forgiveness." "How well are you trained in music?" "I know a little." "I studied it in my youth." " Where?" " Here in Vienna." "Then you must know this." "I can't say that I do." "What is it?" "It was a very popular tune in its day." "I wrote it." "Here, how about this?" "This one brought down the house when we played it." "Well?" "I regret it is not too familiar." "Can you recall no melody of mine?" "I was the most famous composer in Europe." "I wrote 40 operas alone." "Here!" "What about this one?" "Yes, I know that!" "That's charming!" "I'm sorry, I didn't know you wrote that." "I didn't." "That was Mozart." "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." "The man you accuse yourself of killing." "You've heard that?" "Is it true?" "For God's sake, my son if you have something to confess, do it now." "Give yourself some peace." "He was my idol." "Mozart." "I can't think of a time when I didn't know his name." "I was playing games  when he was playing music for kings and emperors." "Even the pope in Rome." "I admit, I was jealous  when I heard the tales they told about him." "Not of the brilliant little prodigy  but of his father, who had taught him everything." "My father, he did not care for music." "When I told him how I wished I could be like Mozart  he would say, "Why?" "Do you want to be a trained monkey?" "You'd like me to drag you around, doing tricks like a circus freak?"" "How could I tell him what music meant to me?" "While my father prayed earnestly to God  to protect commerce  I would offer up  secretly  the proudest prayer a boy could think of." ""Lord, make me a great composer."" ""Let me celebrate your glory through music  and be celebrated myself."" ""Make me famous through the world."" ""Make me immortal."" ""After I die let people speak my name with love for what I wrote."" ""In return I will give you my chastity my industry my deepest humility, every hour of my life."" ""Amen."" "And do you know what happened?" "A miracle!" "My life changed forever." "I knew God had arranged it all." "That was obvious." "One minute I was a frustrated boy in an obscure little town." "The next I was here in Vienna, city of musicians  and Emperor Joseph, the musical king." "In a few years, I was his court composer." "Isn't that incredible?" "Every night I sat with the emperor of Austria  playing duets with him  correcting the royal sight-reading." "Actually, the man had no ear at all." "But what did it matter?" "He adored my music." "Tell me..." "If you had been me wouldn't you have thought God had accepted your vow?" "And believe me, I honored it." "I was a model of virtue." "I kept my hands off women." "I worked hours every day teaching students, many for free!" "Sitting on endless committees to help poor musicians." "Work, that was all my life." "And it was wonderful." "Everybody liked me." "I liked myself." "Until he came." "He came to Vienna to play some of his music at the residence of the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg." "Eagerly, I went there to seek him out." "That night  changed my life." "As I wandered through the salon  I played a little game with myself." "This man had written his first concerto at the age of 4  his first symphony at 7, a full-scale opera at 12!" "Did it show?" "Is talent like that  written on the face?" "Which one of them  could he be?" "Mozart is not here." " Stop it!" " I am." " Stop it!" " I am stopping it." "I am!" "I'm stopping it." "Slowly." "There." "You see?" "I've stopped." " Now we're going back." " No!" "Yes!" "You don't know where you are." "Here, everything goes backwards." "People walk and dance and sing and even talk backwards." " That's stupid." " Why?" "People fart backwards." "Ssa-ym-ssik!" "Ssa-ym-ssik!" "Yes, you are." "You are very sick." "No!" "Say it backwards, shitwit!" "Ssa-ym-ssik." "Ssik, kiss." "Ym, my." "Ssa." "Kiss my ass." "Em-yrram!" " I'm not playing!" " Say it, it's serious." "It's very serious." "Yrram." "Marry me." "I'm not gonna marry you." "You're a fiend." "Uoy-evol-I-tub." "Tub." "But I love..." "But I love you?" " Tihs-ym-tae." " What?" " Eat." " Eat." " Ym, my." " My." "Tihs." "Eat my shit." "You filthy fiend!" "You filthy...!" "My music." "They've started without me." "That was Mozart!" "That giggling, dirty creature I'd just seen crawling on the floor." " I think that went well, don't you?" " Indeed." "The Viennese know good music, don't you think?" "Certainly." "Your Grace." "Ah, Mozart." " Why?" " Why what, sir?" "Why do I have to be humiliated in front of my guests by one of my own servants?" "The more license I allow you, the more you take." "If His Grace is not satisfied, he can dismiss me." "I wish you to return immediately to Salzburg." " Your father is waiting for you there." " No, Your Grace!" "I would prefer you dismissed me." "It's obvious I don't satisfy." "I have no intention of dismissing you." "You will remain in my service and learn your place." "On the page it looked..." "Nothing!" "The beginning simple, almost comic." "Just a pulse." "Bassoons, basset horns like a rusty squeezebox." "And then, suddenly high above it an oboe." "A single note, hanging there, unwavering." "Until a clarinet took it over sweetened it into a phrase of such delight." "This was no composition by a performing monkey." "This was a music I had never heard." "Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing." "It seemed to me I was hearing the voice of God." "Excuse me." "But why?" "Why would God choose an obscene child to be his instrument?" "It was not to be believed." "This piece had to be an accident." "It had to be." "It better be." "How good is he, this Mozart?" "He's remarkable, Majesty." "I heard an extraordinary opera of his last month." "Idomeneo, King of Crete." " That?" "A tiresome piece." "I heard it too." "Tiresome?" "A young man trying to impress beyond his abilities." "Too much spice." "Too many notes." "Majesty it was the most promising work I've heard in years." "Then, we should make some effort to acquire him." "We could use a good German composer in Vienna, surely?" "I'm sure he could be tempted with the right offer." "Say an opera in German for our National Theater." "Excellent, sire!" "But not German." "I beg, Your Majesty." "Italian is the proper language for opera." "All educated people agree on that." "What do you think, chamberlain?" "In my opinion, it's time we had a piece in our own language." "Plain German for plain people." "Kapellmeister?" "Majesty I must agree with "Herr Direttore"." "German is too brute for singing." "Court composer what do you think?" "I think it's an interesting notion to keep Mozart in Vienna." "It should infuriate the archbishop if that is Your Majesty's intention." "You are "cattivo", court composer." "I want to meet this young man." "Arrange a pleasant welcome for him." "Well, there it is!" "This is a beautiful wig for you." "It looks so marvelous and I love it." "The other one." "Here is the other one." "I think you will love it." "Here's the third one." "So?" "Here we go." " How do you like it?" " They're all so beautiful!" "Why don't I have three heads?" "This is funny!" "Three heads!" "Gentlemen." " Good morning." " Morning, Your Majesty." "What do you have for me today?" " Your Majesty, "Herr Mozart"." " Yes, what about him?" "He's here." "Well, there it is." "Good!" "I hope you won't find it improper, but I've written a march in his honor." "What a charming idea, court composer." "May I see?" "Just a..." "Just a trifle, of course." "May I try it?" "Let's have some fun." "Delightful, court composer!" "May I play it when he comes in?" " You do me too much honor." " Bring in "Herr Mozart"." "But slowly." "I need a minute to practice." "Good, continue." "G, Majesty." "Excellent!" "Good, Majesty." "Continue." "Very good." "Very good, Majesty." "Tempo!" "Up." "Lightly, then strongly!" "It's a march, Majesty." "Again." "Bravo, Majesty!" "Gentlemen, please." "A little less enthusiasm, I beg you." "No, please." "It's not a holy relic." "You know, we have met before." "In this very room." "You don't recall." "You were only 6." "He was giving a delightful concert!" "As he got off the stool, he fell." "My sister Antoinette helped him up." "Know what he did?" "He jumped into her arms and said, "Will you marry me?" "Yes or no?"" "You know all these gentlemen." "The Baron Van Swieten." " I'm a great admirer of yours." " Thank you." "Kapellmeister Bonno." "My pleasure." "The Director of Opera, Count Orsini-Rosenberg." "Sir, yes." "The honor is mine, absolutely!" "Here is our illustrious court composer Maestro Salieri." "At last, such immense joy!" "I know your work well." "You know, I composed some variations on a melody of yours." " Really?" "Which one?" " "Mio Caro Adone."" "I'm flattered." "A funny tune, but it yielded good things." "And now he has returned the compliment." ""Herr Salieri" composed this little march for you." "Really?" "Well, there it is." "Down to business." "We're going to commission an opera from you." "What do you say?" "Did we vote in the end for German or Italian?" "Sire, if you remember, we did finally incline to Italian." "Did we?" "I don't think it was really decided, Your Majesty." " German." "Please let it be German." " Why so?" "Because I've already found the most wonderful libretto." "Have I seen it?" "I don't think you have, "Herr Direktor"." "It's quite new." " I'll show it to you immediately." " I think you'd better." "Well tell us about it." "Tell us the story." "Well, it's quite amusing, Majesty." "It's set..." "The whole thing is set in a..." "Yes?" "Where?" "In a harem, Majesty." "In a seraglio." " You mean in Turkey?" " Yes, exactly." "Then why especially does it have to be in German?" "It doesn't, especially." "It could be in Turkish if you really want." "No, my dear fellow, the language is not finally the point." "Do you really think that subject is appropriate for a national theater?" "Why not?" "It's charming." "I mean, I won't actually show concubines exposing their..." "It's not indecent." "It's highly moral, Majesty." "It's full of proper German virtues." "Excuse me, Majesty, but what do you think these could be?" "Being a foreigner, I'd love to learn." "Well, tell him, Mozart." "Name us a German virtue." " Love, sire." " Oh, love!" "Of course, in Italy we know nothing about love." "No, I don't think you do." "Watching Italian opera, all those male sopranos screeching stupid, fat couples rolling their eyes about." "That's not love." "It's rubbish!" "Majesty, you choose the language." "I'll set it to the finest music ever offered a monarch." "Well, there it is." "Let it be German." "This is yours." "Keep it." "It's already here in my head." "What?" "On one hearing only?" "I think so, sire." "Yes." "Show us." "The rest is just the same, isn't it?" "That doesn't really work, does it?" "Did you try...?" "Shouldn't it be a bit more...?" "Or this?" "This." "Yes." "Better?" "What do you think?" "Grazie, Signore." "All I ever wanted was to sing to God." "He gave me that longing and then made me mute." "Why?" "Tell me that." "If he didn't want me to praise him with music why implant the desire like a lust in my body?" "And then deny me the talent?" "Madame Cavalieri is here for her lesson, sir." "Maestro." "Well...?" "How do you like it?" "It's Turkish." "My hairdresser said everything this year's going to be Turkish." "Does he?" "What else did he tell you today?" "Come, come!" "Give me some gossip." "Well, I heard you met "Herr Mozart"." "News travels fast in Vienna." "And he's been commissioned to write an opera." "Is it true?" " Yes." " Is there a part in it for me?" " No." " How do you know?" " Do you know where it's set, my dear?" " Where?" "In a harem." " What's that?" " A brothel." "Come." "Let's begin." " What does he look like?" " Mozart?" " You might be disappointed." " Why?" "Looks and talent don't always go together, Katerina." "Looks don't concern me, maestro." "Only talent interests a woman of taste." "Shall we continue?" "There she was." "I don't know where they met or how." "There she stood!" "On stage, for all to see." "Showing off like the greedy songbird she was." "Ten minutes of ghastly scales." "Arpeggios!" "Whizzing up and down like fireworks at a fairground." "Understand, I was in love with the girl." "Or at least in lust." "And I swear to you, I never laid a finger on her." "All the same, I couldn't bear to think of anyone else touching her." "Least of all, "the creature"." "Brava, madame!" "You are an ornament to our stage." "Your Majesty." "Well, "Herr Mozart"." "A good effort." "Well, decidedly that." "An excellent effort!" "You have shown us something quite new tonight." " It is new." " It is, isn't it, sire?" " Yes, indeed." "So then, you liked it?" "You really liked it, sire?" "Well, of course I did!" "It's very good!" "Of course, now and then, just now and then it seemed a touch..." "What do you mean, sire?" "Well, I mean, occasionally, it seems to have..." "How shall one say...?" "How shall one say, "direktor"?" " Too many notes, Majesty?" " Exactly." "Very well put." " Too many notes." " I don't understand." "There are just as many notes as I required, neither more nor less." "My dear fellow, there are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in an evening." "I think I'm right in saying that, aren't I, court composer?" "Yes." "On the whole, yes, Majesty." "This is absurd!" "Young man, don't take it too hard." "Your work is ingenious." "It's quality work." "And there are simply too many notes." "Just cut a few and it'll be perfect." "Which few did you have in mind?" "Wolfgang!" "Wolfgang, my dear!" " Wolfgang!" " Majesty, this is "Frau Weber"." "She's my landlady." " Enchanted, madame." " Sire, such an honor!" "This is my dear daughter, Constanze." " She's the fiancée of "Herr Mozart"." " Really?" "How charming." "Please." "Well when do you marry?" "We haven't exactly received my father's consent yet." "Not entirely." "Not altogether." " Excuse me, but how old are you?" " 26." "My advice is for you to marry this charming young lady and stay with us in Vienna." " You see?" "I told him that, but he won't listen to me." "Your Majesty, you give such wonderful such royal advice." "May I...?" "Well, there it is." "Wolfie, will you get some water?" "Will you get some water, please?" "Wolfie, get some water!" "Excuse me." "Excuse me." "Did you know?" " What?" " The marriage." "What does it matter to you?" "Nothing." "He can marry who he pleases, I don't give a damn." "How was I?" "You were sublime." "And what did you think of the music?" "Extremely clever." "Katerina, I..." "Excuse me." "Is that woman still lying on the floor?" " No, she's fine." " Oh, I'm so relieved." "Dear Mozart, my sincere congratulations." " Did you like it then?" " How could I not?" "It's the best music in Vienna today, don't you agree?" "She must be dazzling in bed." "I assume she's the virtuoso in that department." "No other reason why you'd marry someone like that." "Come in." "Excuse me." "Wolfie, Mom isn't feeling very well." " Can we go home?" " Yes." "No, no, no." "You can't take him away now." "This is his night." "Won't you introduce us, Wolfgang?" "Excuse us, "Fräulein"." "Good night, "signore"." "At that moment I knew, beyond any doubt  he'd had her." "The creature had had my darling girl." "It was incomprehensible!" "What was God up to?" "Was it possible I was being tested?" "Was God expecting me to offer forgiveness in the face of every offense?" "No matter how painful?" "It's very possible." "But why him?" "Why choose Mozart to teach me lessons in humility?" "My heart was filling up with such hatred for that little man." "For the first time in my life, I began to know really violent thoughts." "Every day, sometimes for hours, I would pray." "Lord please send him away back to Salzburg." "For his sake as well as mine." " No!" "I won't have him back." " But, Your Grace..." "Your son is an unprincipled, spoiled, conceited brat!" "Yes, sir that is the truth." "But don't blame him." "The fault is mine, entirely." "I was too indulgent with him." "Please, Your Grace?" "Give him one more chance?" "You have leave to try." "God bless, Your Grace!" "I thank Your Grace." "I thank you!" "I write to you with urgent news." "I'm coming to Vienna." "Take no further steps towards marriage until we meet." "As you honor the father who has devoted his life to yours  do as I bid, and await my coming." "I now join you in the holy bonds of matrimony." "Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder." "Beloved father:" "You say Vienna is the musicians' city." "To conquer here is to conquer Europe." "With my wife I can do it." "One day, when I'm wealthy  you'll live with us, and we'll be so happy." "Good morning." "This is my niece, Princess Elizabeth." "Your Highness." "She's asked me to recommend a music instructor." " I've come up with an excellent idea." " Your Majesty!" "It would be such a tremendous honor!" "I was thinking of "Herr Mozart"." "What is your view?" "It's an interesting idea, Majesty, but..." "Yes?" "My concern is to protect you from any hint of favoritism." "Favoritism." " What is this?" " What is what?" "Why must I submit samples of my work to a committee to teach a girl?" "Because His Majesty wishes it." "Is the emperor angry with me?" " Quite the contrary." " Then why not appoint me to the post?" "You are not the only composer in Vienna." "No." "But I'm the best." "Mozart." "A little modesty might suit you better." "Who is on this committee?" "Kapellmeister Bonno, Count Orsini-Rosenberg and Salieri." "Naturally, the Italians!" "Of course, always the Italians!" "They're all musical idiots!" " And you want them to judge my music?" " Young man the issue is quite simple." "If you want this position you must submit your stuff, along with all your colleagues." "Must I?" "Well, I won't." "How are we supposed to live?" "Do you want me to beg on the streets?" "Don't be stupid." " All they want to see is your work." " Shit." " What's wrong with that?" " Shut up!" "Just shut up." "One royal pupil, and all of Vienna will come flocking." "They'll come anyway." " No, they won't." " They love me here." " I know how things work in this city." " You know everything, don't you?" " Yes?" " Excuse me, sir." " A lady insists on talking to you." " Who?" "She didn't say, but she says it's urgent." "Excuse me, my dear." "Your Excellency." "How can I help you?" " Frau Mozart?" " I've come on behalf of my husband." "I brought samples of his work so he can be considered for the appointment." "How charming, but why did he not come himself?" "Well, he's terribly busy, sir." "I understand." "I will look at them the moment I can." "It will be an honor." "Please give him my warmest regards." "Would it be too much trouble to ask you to look at them now?" " While I wait." " I'm afraid I'm not at leisure this precise moment." "Leave them with me." "I assure you, they will be safe." "I really cannot do that, sir." "You see, he doesn't know I'm here." "Then he didn't send you?" "No, sir." "This was my own idea." " I see." " Sir, we're desperate." "We really need this job." "My husband spends far more than he can ever earn." "I don't mean that he's lazy, because he works all day long." "It's just that he's not practical." "Money simply slips through his fingers." "It's ridiculous." "Let me offer you some refreshment." "Do you know what these are?" ""Capezzoli di Venere"!" "Nipples of Venus." "They're Roman chestnuts in brandied sugar." "Try one." "Go on, try one!" "They're quite surprising." "They're wonderful!" "Thank you very much, Your Excellency." "Don't keep calling me that." "Keeps me at such a distance." "I wasn't born a court composer, you know." "I'm from a small town." "Just like your husband." "Are you sure you can't leave this and come back again?" "It's very tempting, sir." "But it's impossible, I'm afraid." "He'd be frantic if he knew they were missing." "You see, they're all originals." " Originals?" " Yes, sir." "He doesn't make copies." "These are originals?" "Astounding!" "It was actually..." "It was beyond belief." "These were first and only  drafts of music." "But they showed no corrections of any kind." "Not one." "He had simply written down music already finished in his head." "Page after page of it." "As if he were just taking dictation." "And music finished as no music is ever finished." "Displace one note and there would be diminishment." "Displace one phrase, and the structure would fall." "It was clear to me  that sound I had heard in the archbishop's palace  had been no accident." "Here again was the very voice of God." "I was staring through the cage of those meticulous ink strokes at an absolute beauty." "Is it not good?" "It is miraculous." "Yes, he's very proud of his work." "So you will help us?" "I dine with the emperor tomorrow evening." "One word from me and the post is his." "Thank you, Your Excellency!" "Thank you!" "Come back tonight." " Tonight?" " Alone." "What for?" "Some service deserves service in return." "No?" " What do you mean?" " Isn't it obvious?" "It's a post all Vienna seeks." "If you wish it for your husband, come tonight." "I'm a married woman, sir." "Then don't." "It's up to you." "And not to be vague, that is the price." "There is no God of mercy, Father." "Just a God of torture." "Evening came." "I sat there, not knowing whether she would return or not." "I prayed as I had never prayed before." "Dear God  enter me now." "Fill me with one piece of true music." "One piece with your breath in it, so I know that you love me." "Show me one sign of your favor, and I will show mine to Mozart." "I will get him the royal position." "Enter me." "Please." "Please!" "Yes?" "That lady is back, sir." "Show her in." "Well?" "I'm here." "My husband has gone to a concert." "He didn't think I would enjoy it." "Well, where shall we go?" "Should we stay here?" "Well..." "Do you still want to look at these?" "Or don't we need to bother anymore?" "Suppose we don't, really." "Show this woman out." "Stanzi." "Stanzi." "What is it?" "What's the matter?" "Tell me." "Tell me." "I love you." "I love you." "From now on, we are enemies." "You and I." "Because you choose for your instrument  a boastful, lustful, smutty, infantile boy  and give me for reward only the ability to recognize the incarnation." "Because you are unjust  unfair  unkind  I will block you." "I swear it." "I will hinder and harm your creature on earth  as far as I am able." "I don't like to talk against a fellow musician." "Of course not." "I have to tell you." "Mozart is not entirely to be trusted alone with young ladies." "Really?" "One of my own pupils, a very young singer Maria Theresa Paradis told me she was..." "Well..." "Well, what?" "Molested, Majesty." "Twice, in the course of the same lesson." "There is a "Herr Mozart" waiting for you in the salon." " Whom did they choose?" " Herr Zummer." "Herr Zummer?" "But the man's a fool!" "He's a total mediocrity." "No, no." "He has yet to achieve mediocrity." "I can't lose this post." "I simply can't." "Excellency, please." "Let's go to the palace." "You can talk to the emperor and tell him that "Herr Zummer" is an awful choice." "He could do musical harm to the princess." "Between us, no one in the world could do musical harm to the princess." "Look I must have pupils." "Without pupils, I can't manage." "You don't mean you're living in poverty?" "No, but I'm broke." "Well, how is this possible?" "I hear your concerts are quite successful." "They're stupendously successful." "You can't get a seat." "But no one will hire me." "They want to hear me play but they won't let me teach their daughters, as if I was a fiend." "Seriously is there any chance you could manage a loan?" "Only for six months." "Eight, at the most." "You expect your fortunes to change in six or eight months?" "As a matter of fact, I do." "I am working on something that will explode like a bomb all over Europe." "I'll be the richest man in Vienna." "I'll pay you back double." "Anything." "You name the terms." "Well, how exciting." "Tell me more." " It's a bit of a secret." " Come, come." "I'm interested." "This is delicious." "What is it?" "It's cream cheese mixed with sugar suffused with rum." "Crema Mascarpone Speciale." "Italian." "Forgive me." "We all have patriotic feelings of some kind." "Two thou..." "Two hundred florins." "That's all I need." "A hundred." "Fifty." "What exactly are you working on?" "Really, I can't say." "I don't think you should become known in Vienna as a debtor, Mozart." "However I know a distinguished gentleman I can recommend, and he has a daughter." "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Herr Mozart." "Welcome." "Pay no attention, they're impossible." "I treat them just like my own children." "Which of them do you wish me to teach?" "That's funny." "You're a funny fellow." "This is the instrument." "I hope it's to your satisfaction." "Of course it'll be to his satisfaction." "Come, we're going to listen to some music." "Come!" "Good boy." "Now." "Please play me something, just to give me an idea." "Anything will do." "Just go ahead." "Just as if we weren't here." "Part of music, getting used to an audience." "Right, "Herr Mozart"?" "Perhaps it would be better if we were left alone." "We're both a little shy." "Play." " I said play!" " Michael, please." "Perhaps if I play first, it might encourage the "Fräulein"." "Why don't you let me try?" "Stop it!" "Stop!" "He always howls when he hears music." "We've got to break him of that habit." "We've got to break them of their habit!" "Play." "Please." ""Herr Mozart", play." "Please, I beg you." "That's it." "That's it." "Keep playing!" "Keep playing!" "That's it!" "Mozart, that's wonderful!" "Wonderful!" "Next time you wish me to instruct another of your dogs, let me know." "Goodbye, "Fräulein"." "Goodbye, madam." "Goodbye, sir." "Papa?" "Papa!" "Why are you here?" "Am I not welcome?" "Of course, welcome." "Papa, welcome!" "Welcome!" "You're very thin." "Doesn't your wife feed you?" "Of course she feeds me." "She stuffs me like a goose all day!" " Is she not here?" " No, she had to help her mother." "She's like that." "Her mother's a very sweet woman, you'll..." "I didn't know you were home." "Stanzi, this is my father." "We'll wait." "We'll wait." "Why don't you get up now, my darling?" "She's very tired, poor creature." "You know me." "I'm such a pig." "It's not easy cleaning up after me." "Don't you have a maid?" "Oh." "No." "We could if we wanted but Stanzi insists on doing everything herself." "How is your financial situation?" "Couldn't be better." "That's not what I hear." "What do you mean?" "It's wonderful." "Really, it's marvelous!" "People love me here." "They say you have debts." "Who?" "Who says that?" "That's a malicious lie!" "Do you have pupils?" "I don't want pupils!" "They get in the way." "I have to have time for composition." "Composition doesn't pay." "You know that." "That one will." "What's that?" "It's a secret." "Secret?" "You don't have secrets from me." "No!" "Please!" "I don't want you to see it." "I don't want anyone to see it." "You'll be so proud of me." "It'll be the best thing I've ever done." "The best thing anyone..." "There she is!" "Look at her!" "Isn't she beautiful?" "Now, Papa, confess it." " Could you want a prettier daughter?" " Stop it, Wolfie!" "I look dreadful." "Are you expecting?" " Yes, I am." " Isn't it marvelous?" "We're delighted." " May I offer you some tea?" " Who wants tea?" "Let's go out!" "This calls for a feast." "You don't want tea, do you?" "I know!" "Let's go dancing." "Papa loves parties, don't you?" "How can you be so boring?" "Tea!" "Come on, Papa." "Hurry!" "Here we go." "Good day." "Now!" "I name the penalty!" "I name the penalty!" "And the penalty is..." " Give her a good one!" " Show us your legs!" "Come on, come on!" "It's just a game, Papa." "Thank you." ""Herr Mozart", why don't you name your son's penalty?" "!" "Yes, Papa." "Name it." "Name it." "I'll do anything you say." "Anything." "I want you to come back to Salzburg with me." "The penalty must be performed in the room." "I'm tired of this game." "But my penalty!" "I've got to have a penalty!" "I name a penalty!" "The penalty is you shall play our tune in the manner of Johann Sebastian Bach!" " Turn him over!" " Over?" "!" "Now you play it backwards!" " Another one!" "Give me another one!" " Play it like Gluck!" " Boring." "Another!" " Handel!" "I don't like him!" "Another one!" "Play Salieri." "Now that is a challenge!" "That is a challenge." "Please!" "Please!" "Go on." "Mock me." "Laugh!" "That was not Mozart laughing, Father." "That was God." "That was God laughing at me through that obscene giggle." "Go on, "Signore"." "Laugh." "Show my mediocrity for all to see." "One day I will laugh at you." "Before I leave this earth I will laugh at you." " Wolfie?" " What?" "There's a young girl here to see you." "What does she want?" "She won't talk to me." "She says she has to speak to you." "Damn." "Yes?" " Are you "Herr Mozart"?" " That's right." "My name is Lorl, sir." "I'm a maidservant." "I was asked to come here and offer my services to you." "They'll be paid for by an admirer of yours who wishes to remain anonymous." "Is this your idea, Papa?" "Mine?" " Are you playing a trick on me?" " I've never seen this girl." " Is this some kind of joke?" " Not at all, sir." "Young woman, this won't do." "My son can't accept such an offer, no matter how generous unless he knows who's behind it." " I can't tell you that, sir." " This is ridiculous!" " What is ridiculous?" "Wolfie has many admirers in Vienna." "People send us gifts all the time." "You cannot accept her without references." "Well, this is none of your business." " Whoever sent you is going to pay?" " That's right." "Splendid!" "Now we're going to let a stranger into our house." "Who is we?" "Who is letting who...?" " Could you please wait outside?" " Yes, ma'am." "Look, old man!" "We spend a fortune on you, and all you can do is criticize." " And now..." " Stanzi!" "No!" "It's right that he should hear!" "I'm sick to death of it." "We can't do anything right for you, can we?" "You won't have to do anything for me ever again." "I'm leaving." " No, Papa." " I won't stay and be a burden." "No one calls you that." "She does." "She says I sleep all day." "And so you do!" "The only time you come out is to eat." "Well, what do you expect?" "Do you expect anyone to walk out into a mess like this every day?" " So now I'm a bad housekeeper!" " So you are." "It's a pigsty." "When can you start?" " Right away, ma'am." " Good." "They're out every night, sir." "Thank you, sir." "Do any pupils come to the house?" "Not that I've seen." "Then how does he pay for all this?" "Does he work at all?" "Yes, sir." "All day long." "He never leaves the house till evening." "He just sits there, writing and writing." "Really?" "What is it he's writing?" "I wouldn't know that, sir." "Of course not." "You're a good girl." "You're very kind to do this." "The next time you're sure they'll be out of the house, let me know." "Thank you, sir." "I think I found out about the money, sir." "Yes?" "What?" "He kept seven snuffboxes in here." "I could swear they were all gold." "And now look." "There's only one left." "Where does he work?" "In there, sir." "Gentlemen, I've just heard some news that may interest you." " What?" "Mozart is writing a new opera." "An Italian opera." "Italian?" "That's not all." "He has chosen for his subject, Figaro." "The Marriage of Figaro." "He's setting that play to music?" "Yes." "What is this "Marriage of Figaro"?" "It's a French play, Kapellmeister." "It has been banned by the emperor." "You're absolutely sure?" "Herr Mozart." "Gentlemen, sit down." "Mozart." "Are you aware that I have declared the French play "Figaro" unsuitable for our theater?" "Yes, sire." "Yet we hear you're making an opera from it." "Is this true?" "Who told you this, Majesty?" "It is not your place to ask questions." "Is it true?" "Yes, I..." "I admit it is." "Would you tell me why?" "Majesty, it is only a comedy." "What you think is scarcely the point." "It's what His Majesty thinks that counts." "But, Your Majesty..." "Mozart I am a tolerant man." "I do not censor things lightly." "When I do, I have good reason." ""Figaro" is a bad play." "It stirs up hatred between classes." "In France, it has caused only bitterness." "My sister Antoinette is beginning to be frightened of her own people." "I swear, there's nothing like that in the piece." "I've taken out everything that could give offense." "I hate politics." "I'm afraid you're rather innocent." "In these dangerous times I cannot afford to provoke our people simply over a theater piece." "Majesty, this is just a frolic." "A piece about love." ""Love"." "Again!" "And it's new!" "It's entirely new." "The people will go mad for it." "I have scenes..." "The end of Act Il, for example." "It starts as a duet." "A husband and wife quarreling." "Suddenly, the scheming maid comes in." "It's a very funny situation." "Duet turns into trio." "Then the husband's valet comes in." "Trio turns into quartet." "Then a gardener." "Quartet becomes quintet." "And so on, on and on." "Sextet, septet, octet." "How long do you think I can sustain that?" "I have no idea." "Guess." "Guess, Your Majesty." "Imagine the longest time it could be sustained, then double it." "Well..." "Six seven minutes?" " Eight minutes?" " Twenty, sire." "Twenty minutes!" "Twenty minutes of continuous music." "No recitatives!" "Sire, only opera can do this." "In a play, if more than one person speaks at once it's just noise." "But with opera, with music you can have 20 individuals all talking at the same time." "It's not noise." "It's a perfect harmony!" "Mozart, music is not the issue here." "No one doubts your talent." "It's your literary judgment that's in question." "Even with the politics taken out, it would still remain a vulgar farce." "Why waste your spirit on such rubbish?" "Surely you can choose more elevated themes." "Elevated!" "What does that mean, elevated?" "I am fed to the teeth with these elevated things." "Old dead legends." "Why must we go on forever writing of gods and legends?" "Because they do." "They go on forever." "At least what they represent:" "the eternal in us." "Opera is here to ennoble us, Mozart." "You and me, just the same as His Majesty." ""Bello, bello, bello." Come on now, be honest!" "You'd rather listen to your hairdresser than Hercules, Horatius or Orpheus." "People so lofty, they sound as if they shit marble!" "What!" "Govern your tongue, Mozart!" "How dare you!" "Forgive me, Majesty." "I'm a vulgar man but I assure you, my music is not." "You are passionate, Mozart but you do not persuade." "Sire, the whole opera is finished." "Do you know how much work went into it?" "His Majesty has been more than patient, "Signore"." "How can I persuade if I can't show it?" "That will do, "Herr Mozart"." "Just let me tell you how it begins." "May I just do that, Majesty?" "Show you how it begins?" "Just that?" "Please." "Look..." "There's a servant on his knees." "Do you know why?" "Not from oppression." "He's measuring a space." "Do you know what for?" "His bed." "His wedding bed." "To see if it will fit!" "Late." "Late!" "On the beat." "Good!" "Yes!" "Early!" "Well, Mozart is already rehearsing." "In that case, gentlemen, I think..." "I think we should help Mozart all we can." "And protect him against the emperor's anger." "What anger?" "About the ballet." "What ballet?" "Excuse me but didn't His Majesty specifically forbid the ballet in his opera?" " Herr Mozart!" " Yes?" " A word with you." " Certainly, "Herr Direktor"." "Now, "Herr Mozart"!" "Five minutes, please." "Five minutes!" "Yes?" "Do you not know that His Majesty has expressly forbidden ballet in operas?" " It's not a ballet, it's a dance." " Exactly." "A dance." "Surely, His Majesty didn't mean no dancing when it's in the story." "It's dangerous to interpret his edicts." "Give me your score, please." "Thank you." "What are you doing, "Herr Direktor"?" "Taking out what you should never have put in." "Please." "Please!" "I have no one else to turn to." " What is it?" " It's unbelievable." "The "direktor" has torn up a huge section of my music." "They say I have to rewrite the opera." "But it's perfect as it is." "I can't rewrite what's perfect." "Please." "Can't you talk to him?" "Please." "Why bother?" "He's no friend of yours." "I could kill him!" "I mean, really!" "Kill him!" "I threw the entire score into the fire, he made me so angry." " You burned the score?" " No, my wife took it out in time." "Thank God." "It's unfair that a man like that should have power over our work!" "But there are those who have power over him." "I think I'll take this up with the emperor." "Excellency would you?" "With all my heart, Mozart." "Thank you." "Please, "Herr Mozart"." ""Please, it's not a holy relic."" "I don't need to tell you I said nothing, whatever, to the emperor." "I went to the theater to tell Mozart something, anything  when suddenly, in the middle of the third act  to my astonishment, the emperor  who never attended rehearsals, suddenly appeared." "What is this?" "I don't understand." "Is it modern?" "Majesty the "Herr Direktor" he has removed "un balletto" that would have occurred at this place." "Why?" "It is your regulation, sire." "No ballet in your opera." "Salieri." "Do you like this?" "It's not a question of liking, Majesty." "Your own law decrees it, I'm afraid." "Well, look at them!" "No!" "This is nonsense!" " Let me see the scene with the music." " But, sire!" "Oblige me!" "Yes, Majesty." "Can we see the scene with the music, please?" "Certainly!" "Certainly, "Herr Direktor"!" "Bring the palace set back in, please." "The restored third act was bold, brilliant." "The fourth was astounding." "I saw a woman  disguised in her maid's clothes hear her husband speak the first  tender words he has offered her in years." "Simply because he thinks she is someone else." "I heard the music of true forgiveness filling the theater  conferring on all who sat there, perfect absolution." "God was singing through this little man  to all the world." "Unstoppable." "Making my defeat more bitter with every passing bar." "And then, do you know what happened?" "A miracle!" "With that yawn  I saw my defeat turn into a victory." "Mozart was lucky the emperor yawned only once." "Three yawns and the opera would fail the same night." "Two yawns, within a week at most." "With one yawn, the composer could still get..." "Nine performances!" "Nine!" "That's all it's had!" "Withdrawn!" "I know, I know." "It's outrageous." "Still, if the public doesn't like one's work one has to accept the fact gracefully." "But what is it that they don't like?" "I can speak for the emperor." "You make too many demands on the royal ear." "The poor man can't concentrate for more than an hour." "You gave him four." "What did you think of it yourself?" "Did you like it at all?" "I thought it was marvelous." "Of course." "It's the best opera yet written." "I know it!" "Why didn't they come?" "I think you overestimate our dear Viennese, friend." "You didn't give them a bang at the end of songs to let them know when to clap." "I know, I know." "Maybe you should give me some lessons in that." "I wouldn't presume." "Nevertheless, at the risk of imposing I'd like you to see my new piece." "It would be an honor for me." "No, the honor would be all mine." "I believe..." "I believe it is the best opera yet written, my friends." "Salieri!" "You are the brightest star in the musical firmament." "You do honor to Vienna and to me." ""Herr Mozart"!" " It was good of you to come." " How could I not?" "Bravo, maestro." "Did my work please you?" "I never knew that music like that was possible." " You flatter me." " No." "One hears such sounds and what can one say but:" "Salieri!" "Everybody's here and we've got guests." "Bravo!" "Well, I've got some more." "You remember my good friend Schikaneder." "Come in." "Don't be shy." " This is a very nice girl, and this..." " Wolfie?" "Yes, my love?" " These gentlemen are from Salzburg." " Salzburg?" "We were just talking about Salzburg." "Your father is dead." "So rose the dreadful ghost from his next and blackest opera." "There on the stage, stood the figure of a dead commander." "I knew only I understood that the horrifying apparition was Leopold raised from the dead!" "Wolfgang had actually summoned up his own father to accuse his son before all the world!" "It was terrifying and wonderful to watch." "And now the madness began in me." "The madness of a man splitting in half." "Through my influence, I saw to it  "Don Giovanni" was played only five times in Vienna." "But, in secret, I went to every one of those five." "Worshiping sound I alone seemed to hear." "And as I stood there, understanding how that bitter old man was still possessing his poor son  even from beyond the grave  I began to see a way  a terrible way I could finally triumph over God." ""Herr Mozart"?" "I have come to commission work from you." " What work?" " A Mass for the dead." "What dead?" "Who is dead?" "A man who deserved a Requiem Mass and never got one." " Who are you?" " I am only a messenger." "Do you accept?" "You will be well paid." "Do you accept?" "Work fast." "And be sure tell no one what you do." "You will see me again soon." "Wolfie?" "My plan was so simple that it terrified me." "First, I must get the death Mass, and then I must achieve his death." "What?" "His funeral!" "Imagine it!" "The cathedral, all Vienna sitting there." "His coffin." "Mozart's little coffin in the middle." "And then in that silence music." "A divine music bursts out over them all." "A great Mass of death." "Requiem Mass for Wolfgang Mozart." "Composed by his devoted friend Antonio Salieri." "What sublimity!" "What depth!" "What passion in the music!" "Salieri has been touched by God at last and God forced to listen!" "Powerless to stop it!" "I, for once, in the end, laughing at him!" "The only thing that worried me was the actual killing." "How does one do that?" "How does one kill a man?" "It's one thing to dream about it." "Very different when you..." "When you have to do it with your own hands." "Come in!" "I've come to dinner" "Dinner!" "Are you mad?" "I'm a nobleman!" "I only ever dine with people of my own height!" "Stop it!" "Be careful Be careful" "Hold tight" "I'm a famous  horseman" "And we're a famous horsy" "Give me a hoof, my darling" "And I'll give you my heart" "Take me to your stable" "And never more we'll part" "Kill me Kill me" "We're going to make a soprano stew" "We're going to make a soprano stew" "And when you make a soprano stew" "Shut up!" "I'm sick to death of that tune!" "Give me some hay, my darling" "And I'll give you my heart" "Leporello!" "Some hay!" "We hope  you're contented" "With what  we've presented" "And love our dove of peace" " What did you think?" " It was wonderful!" " He liked the little people." " It's all in good fun." "I liked the horse." "I tell you, if you played "Don Giovanni" here you would've had a wonderful success." "You belong here." "Not at the snobby court." "You could do anything you like." "The more fantastic, the better." "That's what people want: fantasy." "You write a proper part for me a couple of catchy songs I guarantee you a triumph deluxe!" " What do you say?" " How much will you pay him?" "Well!" "I see you brought your manager with you." "Well, madame how about half the receipts?" "Half the receipts!" " Stanzi!" " I'm talking about now." "How much will you pay him now?" "Down payment." "Down payment?" "Who do you think I am, the emperor?" "I have to go." "Stay here, you'll enjoy this next one." "You won't do this." " Why not?" "Half the house!" " When?" "We need money now!" "He pays you now, or you don't do it." "I don't trust that man." "I don't like what he did with your opera." "It was common." "You liked it." "Monkey, punky, flunky!" "Half the house." "You'll never see a penny." "I want it here in my hand." " I'll put it here in your hand." " Shut up!" "You won't put a thing in my hand until I see some money!" "It's embarrassing." "Can't you think of anyone who can do something for him?" "I'm afraid Mozart is a lost cause, baron." "He has succeeded in alienating practically the whole of Vienna." "He never pays his debts." "I can't think of anyone to whom I'd dare recommend him." ""Herr Mozart"." "What a surprise!" "What can I do for you?" "Is my pupil still interested in learning the art of music?" "Your pupil is married and living in Mannheim, young man." "Really?" "Perhaps your dear wife might care to profit from my instruction." "What is it, Mozart?" "What's the matter with you?" "Well since it appears no one is eager to hire my services could you favor me with a little money instead?" "What for?" "If a man cannot earn, he must borrow." "That's hardly the way to go about it." "You are right, sir." "You are right." "But you see, I am endowed with talent, and you with money." "If I offer mine you should offer yours." "I'm sorry, no." "Please." "My answer is no, Mozart." "Please." "Please!" "Don't answer it." "Why?" "Tell him..." "Tell him I'm not here." "Tell him..." "Tell him I'm working on it." "Come back later." " Am I interrupting something?" " No." "Good." "Where's our friend?" "He's not here." "But he's working on it, he told me to tell you." "Is that it?" "Is he happy with it?" "What's this?" "A Requiem Mass?" " You think I'm in the funeral business?" " Leave that alone!" " Put it down!" "It's nothing for you!" " I'm sorry." "What have you got for me?" "Finished?" " What?" " The vaudeville, what do you think?" "Yes." " Can I see it?" " No." "Why not?" "Because there's nothing to see." "Look I asked you if we could start rehearsals next week and you said yes." " Well, we can." " So let me see it." "Where is it?" "Here." "It's all right here in my noodle." "The rest is just scribbling." "Scribbling and bibbling." "Bibbling and scribbling." " Like a drink?" " Look, you little cunt!" "Do you know how many people I've hired?" " Leave him alone!" " I'm paying them!" " He's doing his best." " Paying them to wait." "It's ridiculous!" "You know what's ridiculous?" "Your libretto!" "Only an idiot would ask him to work on that!" "Twelve-foot snakes, magic flutes?" "What's so intelligent about a Requiem?" "Money." "Money." "You're mad." "She's mad." " Oh, yes?" " Wolfie, write it down." "Just write it down." "On paper." "It's no use to anybody in your head." "To hell with your death Mass!" "Calm yourself." "What's the matter with you?" " I won't work there anymore." " What happened?" "You don't know what it's like." ""Herr Mozart" frightens me." "He drinks all day then takes all that medicine and it makes him worse." "Is he working?" "Oh, I am frightened, sir, really!" " When he speaks, he makes no sense." " Is he working?" "I suppose so." "He sits there all the time, doing some silly opera." " Opera?" " Don't ask me to go back again." "I'm frightened." "I'm very, very frightened!" "Are you sure it's an opera?" "I don't have it yet." "Are you neglecting my request?" "No." "No, I..." "I promise you I'll give you a wonderful piece, the best I ever..." "This is my wife, Stanzi." "I've been sick, but I'm all right now, aren't I?" "Yes, sir." "He's all right." "And he's working on it very hard." "Give me two more weeks." "Please." "The sooner you finish, the greater your reward." "Work." "Wolfie." "I think you really are going mad." "You slave for that idiot actor who won't give you a penny!" "And here, this is not a ghost!" "This is a real man, who puts down real money." "Why on earth won't you finish it?" "Can you give me one reason I can understand?" "It's killing me." "You're drunk, aren't you?" "Be honest, tell me." "You've been drinking." "It's not fair." "I worry about you all the time." "I do everything I can to help you." "And all you do is drink and talk nonsense, and frighten me." "Go back to bed!" "Please." "Let me..." "Let me sit here." "Let me stay here with you." "I did it." "And I was proud to do it." ""Leave!" I said. "Right away." "Take the child with you!"" ""Go to the spa and get your health back." I was shocked." "Shocked to my foundation when I saw her." "I couldn't believe my eyes, poor little thing." "You monster!" "No one exists but you, do they?" "You and your music." "I warned her." ""Choose a man, not a baby", I said." ""You marry him, you won't have a pot to piss in." You selfish thing!" "Selfish, that's what you are." "Simply selfish!" "Do you hear me?" "Pick him up." "Pick him up!" "Be careful." "Come with me." "You, follow me." " Is it over?" " Yes, it's over." "It's over." "Go!" "Go, go." "Go." "Go!" "Go!" "Where is your wife?" "Where is your wife?" "She's not well either." "She went to the spa." "You are so good to me." "Truly." "Thank you." "Please!" "No, I mean to come to my opera." "You." "You are the only colleague of mine who came." "Mozart." "I would never miss anything you had written." " It's just a vaudeville." " No, no!" "It's a sublime piece." "The grandest "operone"!" "I tell you you are the greatest composer known to me." "Do you mean it?" " It's him!" " Who?" "The man." "He's here." "Tell him to go away." "Tell him I'm still working on it." "Don't let him in." "No, no." "Wait!" "Ask him if he would give me some money now." "Tell him if he would, it will help me to finish it." " Salieri?" " Yes." " Can we come in?" " Better not." "He's sleeping." " He's all right, though?" " Yes, he's just exhausted." "He became dizzy, that's all." " Well, tell him we came by, won't you?" " Of course." "Give him this." "That's his share." " That should cheer him up." " Indeed!" "And now, good night to you all." "It was perfection, truly." "Thank you." "What happened?" "He said to give you this." "And if you finish by tomorrow night he will pay you another hundred ducats." "Another...?" "That's too soon." "Tomorrow night..." "It's impossible." " Did he say a hundred?" " Yes." "It's too soon." "Can I...?" "Could I help you?" "Would you?" "Actually, you could." " I want to go." " Where?" " I want to go back to Vienna." " Now?" " Yes." " Why?" "I feel wrong." "I feel wrong being here." " Where did I stop?" " The end of the "Recordare"." "So now "Confutatis"..." "How would you translate that?" ""Consigned to flames of woe."" " Do you believe in it?" " What?" "A fire which never dies, burning you forever." "Oh, yes." "Possible." " Come, let's begin." " We ended in F major." " Yes." " So, now, A minor." " A minor." " Yes." ""Confutatis"." "A minor." "Start with the voices." " Basses first." "Second beat of the..." " Time?" "Common time." "Second beat of the first measure." "On A." "Second measure, second beat." "You see?" " Yes." "G-sharp?" " Of course." "Second beat of the third measure, on E." "Do you have me?" "Show me." "Good." "Good." "Now the tenors." "Fourth beat of the first measure, on C." "Second measure, fourth beat." "D." " All right?" " Yes, continue." "Second beat of the fourth measure, on F." "Now the orchestra." "Second bassoon, bass trombones, basses." "Identical notes and rhythm." "First bassoon, tenor trombones, with the tenors." " You go too fast." " Do you have it?" " Bassoon to trombone what?" " With the tenors." " Identical?" " The instruments doubling the voices." "Trumpets and timpani." "Trumpets in D. Listen." " I don't understand!" " Listen!" "Trumpets in D, tonic and dominant, first and third beats." "It goes with the harmony!" "Yes." "Yes, yes!" "I understand." "And that's all?" "No, now for the real fire." "Strings in unison." "Ostinato, on A. Like this:" "Next measure is rising." "Do you have it?" "Show me." " It's wonderful!" " Yes, yes." "Go on." " Write that down!" " Yes, yes." ""Call me among the blessed."" "C major." "Sopranos and altos in thirds." "Altos on C, sopranos above." "Sopranos up to F on the second "voca"?" "And on "dictus"." "And underneath, just violins." "Arpeggios." "Scale in eighth notes, then back to ostinato." " Do you have it?" " You go too fast." " Do you have it?" " One moment, please!" "Good." "Show me the whole thing from the beginning." "Do you want to rest a bit?" "No, I'm not tired at all." "We'll stop for a moment." " Then we'll finish the "Lacrimosa"." " I can keep going." "I assure you." "Will you stay with me while I sleep a little?" "I'm not leaving you." "I'm so ashamed." "Of what?" "I was foolish." "I thought you did not care for my work, or me." "Forgive me." "Forgive me." "What are you doing here?" "Your husband took sick." "I brought him home." "Why you?" "Because, madame, I was at hand." "Well, thank you very much." "You can go now." "He needs me, ma'am." "No, he doesn't." "And I don't want you here." "Just go, please." " He asked me to stay." " And I'm ask..." "I'm back." "I missed you so much." "If you'd just show me that you need me." "And I'll try to do better too." "What is this?" "No, Wolfie, not this." "Not this." "You're not to work on this ever again." "I've decided." "This is not his handwriting." "It's mine." "I was assisting him." "He's not to work on this anymore." " It's making him ill." " But..." "Good night." "I regret we have no servants to show you out, "Herr Salieri"." "Please respect my wish and go." "Madame I will respect his." "Your merciful God." "He destroyed his own beloved, rather than let a mediocrity share in the smallest part of his glory." "He killed Mozart." "And kept me alive to torture." "Thirty-two years of torture." "Thirty-two years of slowly watching myself become extinct." "My music growing fainter." "All the time fainter till no one plays it at all." "And his..." "Good morning, professor." "Time for the water closet." "Then we have your favorite breakfast." "Sugar rolls." "He loves those." "Fresh sugar rolls." "I will speak for you, Father." "I speak for all mediocrities in the world." "I am their champion." "I am their patron saint." "Mediocrities everywhere I absolve you." "I absolve you." "I absolve you." "I absolve you." "I absolve you all." "Subtitles by SDI Media Group" "I deliver perfection..." "and don't brag about it!" ":" "D" "That was an incredible scene." "It was fourth of July." "And, of course, that's not a holiday there so we were working." "And we were shooting an opera scene." "The camera was behind the stage, over the singers and dancers seeing the whole theater full of the audience." "So we had like 500 extras there." "So I said, "Roll it, playback"." "And suddenly, instead of Mozart's music the American national anthem starts to play." "And out of the flies came this huge American flag that unrolled on the stage." "And 600 Czechs stood up and sang the U.S. national anthem and knew the words." "I get goose pimples when I think about it." "All the extras either sang or hummed "The Star-Spangled Banner" with us." "All stood up except 30." "Men and women, standing, panic on their faces looking at each other, what they should do." "That were the secret police dispersed among the extras." "And I was thinking, "Good God, the army's gonna come and we're all gonna go to jail." "Because this is an act of rebellion."" "It started when we crossed the border." "In customs they said, "You can go on"." "Milos said to me, "You're now in Czechoslovakia, forget logic"." "Only in a taxi did I learn we were going to a play about a composer." "I thought, "I'm going to faint"." "Milos made a great fuss and said:" ""I hate biographies of musicians." "No, I'm not coming."" "In communist countries they love to make movies about composers." "Because composers make music." "They don't say anything subversive." "And they were the most boring films I ever saw." "So I was prepared for a painful evening." "The curtain went up, and there is this wonderful drama." "I couldn't believe my eyes." "I was introduced to Milos." "Peter was nervous." "I met him the first time that night." "And he said to me, with the marvelous directness that characterizes him:" ""If the second act is as good as the first, I will make a movie of it."" "I called Mr. Zaentz only to find out he already had the play on his list of what to see." "And that's how it all started." "I thought it was a great play." "It really worked for me." "He said, "What about a picture?" I said, "It's not a picture"." "I said, "There's not enough about Mozart"." "And then Milos hit me on the arm, I still have the bruises though that was 20 years ago." "He said, "That's right." "It needs music, Mozart and music"." "And Milos invited me up for the weekend to his house in Connecticut." "He was just as forthright then." "We spent an extraordinary weekend in which he said to me:" ""You realize that everything will be different."" "In the theater, everything is stylized." "Nobody pretends a tree is a real tree or a sunset is a real sunset." "So in the language when it's stylized, it's proper." "Acting is a little exaggerated and stylized, and it's proper." "Film is a photography." "In photography, everything is real." "Anything stylized would feel, you know, fake." "What we ended up doing was spending four months together in his house in Connecticut." "Monday to Friday we were locked into what we came to regard as our prison." "And then we would go back to New York on the Friday and instantly separate." "And not exchange a word for a blissful Saturday and Sunday till he would come to my flat to collect me and drive me back to prison for the next almost unendurable five days when we slowly hammered out the whole script, moment by moment." "They had some bumpy bumps in the road along the way." "I spoke to both of them at different times, and both used terms you don't use in mixed company about each other." "Well, no, we had a big conflict, you know, big conflict." "Because I hated his cooking, and he hated my cooking." "I regarded both of us as the odd couple." "On the other hand, we had an enormous advantage to have the music before." "For example, every day, we spent a couple of hours just listening to the music, to Mozart's music." "And then picking pieces which would fit here or would fit there." "And that humbled Peter Shaffer." "The music humbled Peter Shaffer." "Suddenly you start to play music and you start to say the lines." "And Peter himself was, "No." "Stop talking." "Stop talking"." "I said to Milos that I did not want repetitions." "I did not want the Mozart theme." "I did not want one piece of music." "It was not in the background, cueing the emotion we should feel." "But it was, in fact, the foreground." "Peter Shaffer one day said:" ""Listen, the music is becoming the third character of this film."" "I think possibly the first film that has music as its leading character." "We met in the airport in New York to discuss it:" "Peter, Milos and Saul Zaentz." "And they proposed this as a project." "I had an hour to think about it because I was moving on to catch another plane." "Immediately, apart from being slightly flattered they thought of me I thought of it as a project which, so long as it didn't develop into a Hollywood scenario, I would be very interested in." "He said, "I would, under one condition." "That not one note of Mozart will be changed."" ""You have our word."" "We had no idea what the film was going to look like." "Although I knew the play, I'd seen the play I knew that once Milos got his hands on it it would be a completely different animal." "We are rolling, stand by for speed." "And action anytime, please." " Your excellency..." " Let's cut." "Give him some water." " All right, let's..." " It's fine." "It's perfect." "Casting is enormously important because that's finally whom the audience sees." "My ideas mean nothing if what I see on the screen, I don't believe." "It was an interesting situation because a lot of big names wanted to play especially Salieri and Mozart, right?" "And I somehow felt, "I don't want to see known faces." "I want people to see Mozart and Salieri."" "Both Saul and Peter, you know, agreed." ""We don't need stars." "We don't need big names." "We have Mozart and his music." "We believe in the movie."" "Mozart was tough to cast." "This man had written his first concerto at the age of 4  his first symphony at 7, a full-scale opera at 12!" "Did it show?" "Which one of them  could he be?" "When you look at the portraits of Mozart from the time you notice an interesting thing:" "none looks like the other." "He must have had a very nondescript face that you wouldn't notice him in the crowd at all." "So he couldn't be a leading-man type, you know, a leading-hero type." "But he has to be a wonderful actor, and he has to master the music." "He was very hard on me, and he was quite gentle with the others." "Then in the process, I learned." "On one day I spent maybe six to eight hours in a screen test." "Other actors came in, and I played opposite them all day." "And so I got to watch Milos working with a different set of actors." "Very good." "No, that's fine." "That's enough." "You still..." "Oh, I walk out!" "And then I began to understand that the people who I was assuming he was most interested in because it was clear from their work he was treating the same as me." "And the people you felt weren't gonna be the right combination..." "Thank you, Milos." "...are the people there was a more gentle relationship with." "We auditioned over 1000 people for the parts." "I think the number we had at one time was 1263, and we weren't finished." "I know someone ran a tally, but we were not finished." "I'm sure we passed close to 1400." "It seemed like I auditioned for a year." "What we were really doing was rehearsing." "I wasn't auditioning." "I was rehearsing." "I thought I was still working to get the part." "But in that time I thought, "This is a wonderful project and he's a great director, and I'm lucky to be still here."" "Of course you start with the main characters and then you go down." "But down doesn't mean less important." "I think the small parts are as important as the main characters." "In a certain way, I pay more attention to casting the small, bit part because once you see them, you will never forget them." "Nothing drives me more crazy when I am watching a film and somebody appears, then disappears and then reappears." "And he looks like the guy who was just there, and I'm mixing..." ""Who is he?" "Who is she?"" "Milos called me and said, "Vinnie, I would like you to be in 'Amadeus'." "It is not a big part, but I would love you to be in it."" "One day, I was reading F. Murray Abraham for a small part in the movie." "And he was all right." "And then I had a young actor come in reading for Mozart and I asked F. Murray, "Listen, would you just help me here."" ""This is just to help, read Salieri for this young man."" "And F. Murray probably because, you know, now it doesn't matter gave a wonderful performance." "I did one of the things from Salieri." "Then I said, "Milos, this is where he becomes an old man."" "Which I hadn't really worked on." "And he said, "Well, do the old man"." "And I did the old man." "I didn't think I was gonna get this thing." "But I still acted my heart out." "He read so beautifully that it started to bug me, you know?" "He called and said, "I want you to know you're my first choice"." "And I had been around for a while, and I said:" ""That's nice." "I'm very happy, but what does that mean?"" "He wasn't saying, "You got it", or, "There's no question about it"." "He said, "You're my first choice"." "From my point of view, that doesn't pay the rent." "I'm flattered, and I said, "Thank you." "Tell me what I have to do next because I'm busy painting my kitchen."" "Some time went by and they said, "We want to see you for this improv group"." "I said, "No, I'm not gonna do it"." "Milos said, "That's the kind of guy who would be Salieri"." "And I said, "Why?"" "He said, "He's not gonna be happy about what I say"." "Milos or Murray." "He says, "Well, this guy thinks that he would be a great actor if he didn't have breaks against him."" ""Also, I think he's Salieri off-stage as well as on-stage."" "And he was right." "So after several weeks, I told F. Murray Abraham:" ""Okay, you got the part."" "He didn't believe me, because he accepted a role in another film!" "While on the set of "Scarface", I got the word that I was gonna do "Amadeus"." "And everyone's attitude, the stars on the show, changed toward me." "I was no longer this hardworking actor F. Murray Abraham like so many other hardworking actors." "I was the man who got the part that every actor in the English language was trying to get." "And I was really scared." "Because I had talked the talk, and now I had to walk the walk." "And it was..." "For three days, I couldn't answer the phone." "I was just sucking it up, getting ready for the thing, for the mountain." "This film could only be shot in three cities:" "Vienna, Budapest or Prague." "Because only these cities have the style of 18th-century architecture." "Prague was ideal." "Prague was absolutely ideal, because..." "Thanks to communist inefficiency the 18th century was untouched, untouched." "Prague was an amazing time capsule." "You could set up camera everywhere without having to undo signs of the 20th century." "They weren't there." "There was no advertising." "You remove the electric lights, you were in the 18th century." "All you had to do was throw dirt down put up lanterns, and you were ready to go." "You have squares and streets." "You can turn the camera 360 degrees." " You don't have to change anything." " It's an exquisitely beautiful city." "I don't think there's any other city in Europe that has such an extensive uninterrupted core of 18th-century structures." "For me, it was a very mixed emotional experience because I was not allowed to go back." "I was a traitor and immigrant." "When I went the first time, which was, more or less, to negotiate the making of the movie, that was very emotional for me." "Because before, I didn't hope that I would ever see my native country and places where I kissed my first girlfriend ever again in my life." "And then I was coming back for the shooting, I was arriving January 2nd." "It was very cold, snow everywhere." "And I realize that from now on I have to cut myself, emotionally, from my past." "Because otherwise, the work would suffer." "When I got to Prague in the beginning of "Amadeus" there's the scene where his assistant comes with the muffins in the snow." "And so I had written a 13-page snow alert in English and in Czech." "I wanted trucks rigged." "I wanted duplicate equipment." "I wanted maps." "They say, "What are you talking about?" "Half the people don't have phones." "We don't have trucks we can let sit."" "I said, "Just tell me when it's gonna snow!"" "We didn't have the weather reports as perfect as we have today." "So there was always a snow alert." "They phoned and said, "There's no snow." "It's not gonna snow this year."" ""Reports say we're not gonna have any snow."" ""We're not gonna shoot you until March." "We're gonna shoot with fake snow."" "I said, "Okay"." ""So you can take other work."" "Every day we had to prepare two sets." "One for in case there is overnight snowfall, and one in case there is not." "And..." "That was not my problem." "I didn't want him to know about it." "I was engaged to do an episode of "Taxi" on Monday." "And Saul called on Thursday, the Thursday before, and said:" ""It's snowing." "Can you come now?"" "He said, "I know." "You gotta be back." "We'll get you back on Monday."" "I said, "Sure"." "He said, "We'll do the one shot in the snow and then you'll come back and we'll do the interiors."" "I said, "Okay"." "So I got on a plane Thursday, and I got to Prague Friday and we shot Saturday night, and I was back for Monday." "I had never been to a Soviet bloc country before." "And going at such a fantastically accelerated rate of speed my first impressions were enormous and huge." "I felt like I was in a grade-B spy movie." "Followed everywhere, hotel rooms bugged." "The rooms in this one hotel were very ornate with a chandelier and sconces and rugs..." "Kind of worn, chipped, tacky." "But the fact is they were there." "And this one guy, Frank, he said, "These guys have got this room bugged."" "I said, "Who cares?" He says, "No, man." "I'm not gonna let them." "I'm gonna knock that..."" ""Are you gonna make a problem?" "I'm gonna show you."" "He starts climbing around the sconces." ""No." "It's the chandelier."" "He gets up on a chair, he's climbing around. "No, it's not here."" "I said, "Let's go to dinner." He says, "No"." "He rolls the rug back and he finds a plate about this big with screws in it." "He says, "I told you, man!" "It's right here."" "He gets a butter knife." "We had kitchenettes, right?" "He takes it, and as he takes the screw out there's a large crash and the chandelier beneath us crashes down into the apartment below." "We went to dinner like a shot." "A friend of mine, an older Czech director named Jirí Weiss gave me some pineapples and lemons for his daughter." "She came to the set that Saturday." "I had the lemons and oranges or the oranges, the pineapples and the lemons." "And I gave her the stuff and half the crew was secret police, and everybody knew it." "Afterwards, I don't remember his name but he was sort of a smarmy cop, and obviously cop." "He said, "So tell me, so, what is this woman you meet?" "This intrigue in Prague?" "What is this?"" "And I played, like, idiot and I said, "She's the daughter of a roommate of a friend who's from here, used to make movies here."" ""He asked if I would bring his daughter some pineapples and lemons."" "And he said, "Pineapple?"" "I had learned the word for pineapple." "It's "ananas", same as in French." "I said, "Yes, ananas"." "And he said, "Yes, in the can?"" "I said, "No, no, real, fresh ananas."" ""Fresh pineapple?" "Fresh "ananas"?"" "And then for the next 20 minutes, I watch it go around the set." "And they all do the same gesture." "They're going, "In the can?"" "And the teller of the story says, "No, fresh 'ananas'."" "And they all kind of:" "And looked at me and kind of:" "I think they were the only two pineapples in Prague that January." "When they go down the corridor of the insane asylum, that was a war museum." "The central hall where all the mad people were kept was part of a military hospital for the wounded from the 30 Years' War." "That was a funny situation." "The Communists took it." "They left only the ground floor as a kind of museum." "But it was closed for the public." "Up in the second and third floor were secret archives of the secret police." "There was a panic when they learned that they showed us the ground-floor corridors." "We were questioned very closely as to what our connections were." "After all, we could be CIA members or whatever." "They didn't much like the idea of us invading the archive." "But we persuaded them." "When we went there the first time, that corridor had 75 two-ton cannons all looking at each other." "And Milos says, "I love it"." "I say, "Yeah, I love it too." "What are we gonna do with these 200 2000-pound cannons?"" "He says, "Cannons can't be there"." "I said, "I figured that the cannons can't be there." "But we're gonna have to get them out, and you want pristine snow."" "No snow can have footprints in it, and we got to get the cannons out." "I didn't know it's a problem." "There's some cannons there." "Take them away." "I didn't know that every cannon weighs several tons, you know?" "They had to hire an army to take it out." "The first three weeks of shooting was Salieri in the hospital room." "I was the guy that went out with him in the morning and Dick Smith, our makeup artist, at 4:00 every morning for hours of makeup before the crew came." "And he'd go out to Barrandov." "No one was there at 4:00 a.m." "And the minute you get there, "Where's my tea?" You know?" "You know, "I just got out of the car, Murray." "I'm gonna go get your tea."" "Dick Smith is the best makeup man in the world." "And when we would start working in the morning, it was 4:00." "I would get up, I'd get to the studio by 4:30." "We'd work on the makeup for four and a half hours." "As much preparation as I had made for the old man, gestures and so on the fact is after sitting for hours, at that hour in the morning you are kind of tired and slow." "Your movements are kind of like this:" "This starts to happen." "I also had lenses in my eyes which had to be removed, and my eyes had to be sprayed." "So that the pain, which was always there, would not be too much." "Once I looked into a mirror at my face I felt like it was completely convincing." "All I had to do was believe this guy, and it was not hard." "I'm not denigrating my work, I'm a very proud actor but with Dick Smith there, and the words of Peter Shaffer..." "They've got be the most beautiful descriptions in music ever written whether on film or in literature." "This was a music I'd never heard." "And that we could hear the music accompanying the words..." "Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing." "...what more can you ask for?" "It seemed to me I was hearing the voice of God." "Excuse me." "Because of the schedule, the first thing that was filmed in the shooting schedule was all of Salieri, old." "That breathtaking section of Murray's performance most breathtaking was done in the first weeks." "But it gave us the time to work on our own." "We rehearsed a lot on our own." "We rehearsed all of the scenes before the filming began." "Initially, Meg Tilly was playing Constanze in the film and she was amazing." "Basically, at one point, Milos had said he felt like we'd done it, because the work was going so well up to that point." "And the day before Meg was to appear on camera for the first time, she got hurt in a soccer game." "She's playing soccer with some kids in the street and she tore the ligament in her leg so badly that the doctor told us we would have to wait five weeks before she could start." "And we couldn't because Saul put together all independent money and we just couldn't afford it." "It was shocking." "Partly because we were where we were." "Behind the Iron Curtain, cut off from our lives to a significant degree more than if we had been shooting in Western Europe or someplace closer to home." "Suddenly, she was just gone and in a hospital." "So in a very short amount of time, they had to find an actress to take over the part." "The casting director who was brought on to hire the new Constanze..." "This woman called my acting teacher and said:" ""Can you recommend anyone?" He said, "Elizabeth Berridge"." "She said, "She's too weird and introverted..." "And she's too quirky for this outgoing, bubbly girl." Which I was." "We flew to New York for a weekend and it was extraordinary." "Friday night, we went:" "Prague, Paris." "And Saturday morning we took the Concorde to New York." "So we went to Milos' apartment and they had 60-odd girls lined up for us to see." "I saw, like, 60 girls." "Sunday I read, like, 12 of them." "Out of these 12, two were..." "I couldn't decide between them." "So Saul decided, "Let's bring them to Prague and let's do a screen test with them there."" "It felt like calamitous, like it had gone so badly." "I said to my father, "If I can't speak, how will I ever get a part?"" "Because speaking is required in that line of work." "Then I got a call: "You're flying to Czechoslovakia for a screen test." "And there's you and another contender."" "So I had no passport." "And this was, I think, the next day." "Milos went back to Prague Sunday so he could shoot on Monday." "And I went over there on Monday, went back with the two girls Monday." "And that was some ushering job, being with two girls up for the same part." "I kept saying, "I love you both"." "We were flown over and we tested." "And they did the hair and the makeup." "Meanwhile, they're filming the movie and you really wanna not start to feel like you're part of the thing, because, in my case I knew I was getting back on a plane the next day." "Apparently, they couldn't decide, so they said:" ""There's gonna be another test tomorrow." So we came back and went through all the hairdos and the gowns..." "And this went on for a week." "The other woman and I hung out every night." "We would have dinner." "I was always nervous." "She'd say:" ""No, you look lovely in that wig." "I'm sure you did great."" "And I was preparing to, "Okay, how do I say thank you for having me and for considering me and for this first-class ticket to Prague."" ""Thank you so much, and bye, and good luck with your movie."" "And Milos said, "Essentially, you both have the part, you know it's impossible to decide between you and one of you is simply too pretty to play Constanze."" ""So Elizabeth, you have the part."" "And I was like, "Thanks, that's..." "Well, I have the part." "That's good."" "As much as I love Meg Tilly, I think, as a personality Elizabeth Berridge was more right because Constanze was a landlady's daughter." "She was a street kid, you know?" "So I got to stay and had packed clothes probably for three days." "I was there for six months and started work the next day." "And that was it." "I was Constanze." "Frau Mozart?" "I remember the first day the first scene I shot was the "nipples of Venus" scene where I come to see Salieri." "I had to eat a million of those..." "Go on, try one!" "They're quite surprising." "Marzipan!" "It was foul." "I don't know, it's just awful." "And I remember getting ill and Milos was like:" ""Oh, it's her job."" "It wasn't exactly working in a mine, but eating a million marzipan balls..." "I didn't know I didn't have to eat it all." "At 20 years old, I didn't know:" ""Oh, you can spit it out at the end."" "We're going again?" "Okay." "It's funny how that can be the only thing on your mind." "But I couldn't..." "They're wonderful!" "The first scene that I did, in making the movie, was the march of welcome." "Meeting Mozart for the first time." "I had to learn to play the piano accurately, and badly." "Even though the harpsichord..." "The piano was unhooked the hands had to be in the right place." "Light, then strong!" "They had provided me with several versions of prerecorded music and I had to learn to do it as recorded." "Which was fun." "I had a good time." "Then I got to be very good at it." "Tom worked on it too." "Tom had a piano in his room and he worked on it all the time." "The keyboards that I played on in front of the camera were all silent." "All of the music was recorded before we started." "So the sequence was done with the music played out loud in the room or in my ear, if there was dialogue that had to go on." "In the scene where Mozart first meets the emperor and Salieri has written this march, it was a surreal experience." "It was staged so that the actors were behind me." "The keyboard is here:" "Because there's dialogue, the music is played in a tiny transistor in my ear." "The keyboard is silent." "I'm looking away so when you lose your bearings, you can't find it." "So it truly was a kind of schizophrenic situation." "When we met, the only instrument he ever played was guitar." "He never played piano." "He was spending like three or four hours a day for several months practicing the pieces he had to play." "I began, as the months went on, to believe the illusion a bit." "It was always distressing to hear what I really sounded like on a sounded keyboard." "The practice room, where my piano was was right over the room where Milos hung out." "Imagine what a nightmare that was for him." "The one day he said that I was improving was the day that my teacher was demonstrating to me." "Neville Marriner, after seeing the film, said:" ""He never hits a wrong key." "Even when he plays backwards."" "Now you play it backwards!" "There was just no way to be able to do that without being able to do it." "It's one thing to play to a playback it's entirely different to do it upside down behind your back." "In the way of stunt work, you learn what the assignment is and some chemical gets released, and you actually can do it." "It was a big thrill for everybody that we were going to film in practically the only wooden opera house left in central Europe and also the most perfectly preserved." "It had undergone many alterations, but they were minor and architecturally, the place was intact." "The first time I arrived in Prague for location, and they showed us the theater, we were there with Peter Shaffer and Saul when suddenly, I realized Peter Shaffer disappeared." "Where's Peter Shaffer?" "We found him in the corridor, hidden, crying because there he learned that he is standing exactly at the place where Mozart himself in person, conducted the world premiere of "Don Giovanni"." "I tell you, we felt awed the first time we stepped on that stage and realized that our hero had been in that very spot." "I think this fact gave a lot of humility and respect for the place to every actor, dancer and everybody there." "There's something that happens when you do it in the place, the atmosphere." "I'm not crazy about the spiritual ghosts and things." "I'm not, but I don't deny them." "Suddenly, the reality of the place and the moment really enters into you which is why it was a great idea to do it there instead of building a set." "It was brilliant." "But again, thanks to the neglect during the communist era, it was a powder keg." "It was in danger of burning down." "It still had gas lines in it." "They lit it with gas." "They used to have limelight in it." "It really hadn't been modernized." "Now we are going there to light millions of candles!" "All those candles in a wooden opera house, in a wooden dome." "When the chandeliers were lit, I held my breath for what seemed like days." "And there we were, all these extras, all these wigs and all this flammable stuff in this tinderbox-dry theater where "Don Giovanni" had had its premiere." "That theater we were in." "Amazing." "Imagine the trust of the opera house, allowing us to be there." "We had every day like 30 or 40 firemen everywhere, standing there." "But they were absolutely..." "I will never forget "Don Giovanni"." "At a certain moment, Don Giovanni moves to the table, does this:" "And he has a hat with huge plumage, you know, a feather like a peacock feather, right?" "And leans like that and talks to the commodore." "We rehearsed." "Everything was fine." "Okay, let's shoot." "So light the candles." "We didn't realize that there on the table is this small candelabra, which now is lit." "Okay, camera roll it, playback." "We are shooting." "And the actor is performing like that." "He leans and suddenly we see that this feather caught fire." "The fire is going up and up and up, but he's in the ecstasy of performing." "He doesn't even notice." "And everybody is staring and nobody..." "We have 40, 50 firemen around there." "And his head starts really flaming." "Finally, one fireman dared to lean from the wings and says:" ""Excuse me." "Excuse me, Mr. Forman, will you please stop the cameras?"" ""Your actor is on fire!"" "When the camera is rolling, everything is sacred." "My impression, never having done a movie that size..." "I had done a horror film..." "That if things went wrong one should just stop." "When we did that scene where we're playing under the table I don't remember if it was a take or rehearsal, but I came out of my dress." "Which I was barely in to begin with." "And there was Milos, "Keep going!"" "I was like, "Really?"" " Stop it!" " I am." "And Milos looks for the..." "He'd love life coming in accidentally." "There." "You see?" "Milos can be a bit abrupt." "That's kind of a pleasant way to put it." "But he's never wrong." "On "Amadeus", after this incredible journey to get to Prague through the night and all of this remarkable stuff I'm suddenly standing in 18th-century costume, in the snow in Prague, in the middle of the night." "Then I have to walk down the street and he says to me, "Vinnie, television is ruining you!"" "He meant my walk was terrible." ""Television is ruining you!"" "Then we did a second take a moment later." "He said, "That was wonderful!"" "I don't know what changed." "We were six days or five days into shooting the first scene I was in and Milos wasn't really saying anything." "I was starting to feel more comfortable and I said:" ""Milos, do you have any suggestions?" And he said, "No"." "I said, "Well, I mean, is it okay?" "I mean, should I do more or less?"" ""No, you're doing fine." I said, "You haven't said anything"." "He said, "If there was anything wrong, I'd have said so"." "I was fine, so he said nothing." "Less you talk, less you confuse actors' heads." "If you cast wrong then you have to work and usually, you're in trouble anyway." "A director is little bit of everything, but a good director always for every part of his work, must choose people who are better than him." "For me, the operas were not difficult at all." "Because it was, first of all, beautifully recorded." "Beautifully cast by Twyla, and she did all the choreography." "So for me, it was just a question, you know, how to..." "Where to place the camera and how to shoot it." "It was hard to work in Prague." "There were no materials." "Everything had to be brought in and everything was improvised." "They had no properties, no wardrobes, no fabrics." "Nothing to build with." "But they had an ingenuity, a humor, and a force to their imagination that more than repaid the lack of materials." "I really enjoyed and had great fun shooting the parody in the theater the parody of Mozart's operas." "Milos only talks about doing things extremely and broadly." "That is one of his charms." "You can't go over the top with Milos." "It's not possible." "I like that." "Peter enjoyed very much writing this scene." "The parody, words, learning new lyrics." "I had never done anything like that." "I'm not sure Milos ever directed anything like that." "I'm sure Twyla had never choreographed anything like that." "I'm sick to death of that tune!" "There was a pure joy." "We just put every silly thing in, the dwarves..." "It's very inventive, a very Milos scene." "You feel it in the man." "The thing that gives him the greatest pleasure is that kind of theater." "The guy who is in the back of the horse, right?" "Because he has to reach out and give out a dove." "When the horse moved, he had to walk backwards." "That was probably the most difficult thing in the film." "There were so many extras, we were hard-pressed for enough wigs and enough costumes." "Makeup and hair and wardrobe for 500 people..." "It was like a..." "It was like a battleground." "Once these people were dressed, they were on their own." "And they wandered the halls and ate their lunch and made phone calls and all in their clothes." "I think that had a tremendous amount to do with the way they came across." "It was life." "They lived in these clothes for as long as it took to complete this scene, just as they did in the 18th century." "And I think there is a great deal of authentic life in them and in the clothes." "They were in the clothes long enough that they were not a costume." "The costumes succeeded because I had a hard head." "When I didn't like something, I had it redone again until it was right." "Even the producer couldn't interfere when it was costing more." "I'd redo it until I'd say, "That can go in front of a camera."" "The worst thing is to compromise." "It compromises the entire production." "It's every woman's fantasy, I think, for about five minutes to wear something like that and feel like a princess." "And then it gets old." "It's very uncomfortable." "It was literally like being squeezed and coming out at the top like toothpaste." "Eighteenth-century costumes, it really..." "It really informs how you stand, how you walk what your posture should be." "Eighteenth-century clothes have very tight shoulders." "They keep you back." "You keep your shoulders back and your head erect." "That's the pose." "That's what the clothes tell you they want you to do." "What surprised me was that because my hair had gotten dyed a kind of gold color I'd get up and that image was so different to me that it actually triggered the part of me that was more extraverted." "As people would show up for their sequences in the film I found that I had an urge to take them out and to be the kind of social director in a way that isn't my natural inclination." "He was so much in Mozart's head." "After the movie was done we shared a living space together and he's a very different man than he was." "He was transformed into Mozart." "I hadn't thought about this in a long time but as Salieri, I was separate from the rest of the cast for the first 3 1/2 weeks." "I was only doing the old man." "I separated from the cast because that's the kind of man Salieri was." "I'm not that way." "I love parties." "I love a good time." "I really do." "But I was extremely solitary." "It was me against everyone else." "What I didn't realize was that this was infecting how others felt about me." "Whenever there were parties I wasn't invited because I wasn't there." "Also, I was always too busy." "If you refused for 3 1/2, four weeks, people don't invite you anymore." "I began to be like that character." "I didn't like being separate but in a way, that contributed to the success of the performance." "In some way, I feel like the work relationship that I had with Murray was supported by the fact that we didn't become so close that we knew too much about each other." "Tom and I have great respect for each other." "But during the film, we were living a little bit like those two characters." "There was always that element where we never knew each other so well that we could tell exactly when the other one was telling the truth or not." "It happens." "When you embody a character as we did it happens that you carry it over." "Crazy, but it's true of any actor who does a part for a length of time." "And these parts meant so much to both of us." "It was only right that we had this antagonism." "It's too soon." "Can I...?" "Could I help you?" "Would you?" "The dictation of the Requiem by the dying Mozart, seems to me to overturn every piece of wisdom I was ever told." "The words are, in themselves, not particularly interesting." "They don't even look like a movie script." "They look as if they will never play." "They are dull." "C sharp, E flat, bar 14, this, that, the other." "It's several pages of musical direction." "One guy's in bed and the other is writing at the end." "And nobody moves." "It's daring to have a whole sequence of composers dictating music to each other." "And they had set us up, before we started filming with Neville Marriner and his assistant." "They had them do the scene for us to let us see what real musicians would be like." "And forgive me, Neville, it was awful." "It was awful." "They're not actors." "Any film school would tell you this is not for movie." " Come, let's begin." " We ended in F major." " Yes." " So now, A minor." "There's one sequence early on in the scene where Mozart is fairly delirious and trying to find the phrase that he's looking for in the dictation." " A minor." " Yes." ""Confutatis"." "A minor." "In reality, what happened on that day is there's a little..." "John Strauss is in the corner pressing the buttons on a cassette player." "We have little hearing aids in our ears which are playing like an AM radio the musical phrase, so that we can be on tempo and pitch for when all the music gets laid in afterwards." "And there was some mishap, so there's a moment where I'm..." "Me, the actor is..." "I'm genuinely lost." "But because of the kind of trust and connection that we have the whole sequence is in the film." "A minor." "Start with the voices." " Basses first." "Second beat of the..." " Time?" "Common time." "Second beat of the first measure." "There were two cameras set up, so we didn't overlap." "And most of that is improvisational because he was acting as though he were very sick." "Consequently, he began to lose certain things and I would guide him." "It was a real symphony between the two of us, a duet." "Later on, I don't know if told Murray, but I would skip information." "First bassoon, tenor trombones, with the tenors." "I'd leave out information that I knew he needed to go to the next place." " You go too fast." " Do you have it?" " Bassoon to trombone, what?" " The tenors." "So he'd have to stop me and Salieri would seem not smart enough." "Trumpets and timpani." "Trumpets in D. Listen." " I don't understand!" " Listen!" "You can do that because there were cameras on both of us and also because of a superb partnership between two players." "The thing that most amazed me was the artistry of every person in every job that worked on this film and the extraordinary storytelling that happened from every point of view." "I have the deepest gratitude to that crew because they gave everything, everything they had." "In most cases, the film would be a biography of Mozart and it would be what happened and what happened." "To take the circumstances of that incredible life and put it in the context of this other man and his argument with his god, is genius, I think." "I don't really care what it is about because it moves me and makes me think." "It makes me laugh." "It makes me cry a little." "And whatever you think about, that's what it is about." "I don't see that the movie has aged." "It's a timeless story, and it's beautifully told and beautifully shot." "I'm sure you'll hear this again and again but we were part and parcel of something that was greater than we were." "I remember the stunned silence of those long, long main titles at the end while the piano concerto was still playing." "Extraordinarily, people waited until the end of the main titles." "Then the applause at the end as if they'd been to a concert." "And then you got the first sense that perhaps this was going to be an unusual movie and that perhaps the music had won." "The thing that pleases me almost more than anything else about the whole enterprise is the number of people, young people who discover the man I think is the greatest composer in the world." "So many people were introduced to Mozart as a composer, compared with just doing it in concert halls." "It'd have taken 100 years to reach as many people as the film did."