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Antonio Salieri: Operas
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During his final soliloquy in William and Mary Theatre's production of Peter Shaffer's "Amadeus," the jealous, vengeful Antonio Salieri (played by junior Tom Bambara) heralds himself as the "patron saint of mediocrities." He couldn't be nearer to the truth if he tried -- in a play every bit as opulent and symphonic as the operas, concertos and sonatas contained within, Salieri is by far its flattest note. He is a man portrayed as so humorless, self-obsessed and loathsome that every time he walks on stage (which is often, and for very, very long periods of time) you want to shuffle him right off again: Mozart was once quoted as saying, "to talk well and eloquently is a very great art, but … an equally great one is to know the right moment to stop." Antonio should learn to take a hint. You can practically see the Venticellis frozen behind him, grinning uncomfortably through gritted teeth, hoping the next pause will be his last.
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Antonio Salieri is still better known today for the renowned composers with whom he was associated than for his own many and varied compositions. While he cannot be ranked among the great masters himself, he has ... come into view as an underrated and important composer deserving of closer attention. Salieri was the dominant figure in Parisian opera from the mid to late 1780s. Tarare (1787), generally considered his finest achievement in the genre, is a masterpiece. He also wrote significant instrumental, sacred, and vocal compositions, and shaped the Viennese musical world that would produce so many important composers for a century and a half. Salieri's illustrious students included Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Hummel, and Czerny.
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Antonio Salieri (1750 - 1825) was beloved and respected by most musicians and by his public. He became court composer for the Holy Roman Emperor and later served as Kappellmeister (conductor of the court orchestra) for more than fifty years during which time he influenced most aspects of Viennese musical life. For a time his work dominated the Paris Opera. He taught music to Schubert, Beethoven and Liszt. Despite his success, Salieri's musical talent did not approach that of Mozart. Of the Viennese Court that Mozart served, only Salieri attended Mozart's burial.
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Mozart and Salieri, contemporaries in Vienna, have been linked in controversy for centuries. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera and the movie "Amadeus" suggest that Salieri tried to poison and plagiarize Mozart. Clearly Mozart is a genius and his Requiem is a masterwork. But Salieri was a celebrated composer in Mozart's Vienna. Come to your own conclusion as the Chorale and a professional orchestra and soloists musically clarify a centuries old debate.
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At the age of 16, Salieri was taken to Vienna by F.L. Gassmann, the imperial court composer and music director (Hofkapellmeister), and was introduced to Emperor Joseph II. During the same period, Salieri ... fostered important friendships with both Pietro Metastasio and Christoph Gluck. Salieri's first opera, Le donne letterate, was produced at the Burgtheater in Vienna in 1770. Four years later, the emperor made him the court composer, and in 1788 he became Hofkapellmeister, a position Salieri held for 36 years. During his official career he composed operas not only for theatres in Austria but also for companies in France and Italy.
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Thanks to Pushkin and Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as Shaffer and the film Amadeus, Salieri has been cast as the villain in the tragedy of Mozart's early death. Antonio Salieri occupied a position of great importance in the music of Vienna. From 1774 he was court composer and conductor of the Italian opera, serving as court Kapellmeister from 1788 until 1824. Born in Legnago, he was brought as a boy to Vienna by Florian Gassmann, his predecessor as court Kapellmeister who supervised his musical training and education. He owed much to the influence and patronage of Gluck, to whom he seemed a natural successor in the field of opera. He won similar success to the latter ... in Paris with his operas for the French stage.
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