Shaffer's treatment of Mozart

One of the most frequent reservations concerning "Amadeus" is Shaffer's unflattering portrait of Mozart. The genius seems to be discredited by the use of foul language, childish behaviour, and artistic arrogance. However, there is evidence that the pure picture one has of Mozart nowadays is an idealized one, bereft of many a flaw and failure.

"I'm going to pounce-bounce! I'm going to scrunch-munch! I'm going to chew-poo my little mouse-wouse!" / "Stanzi-Wanzi had a fit, shit her stays and made them split"… The Mozart of the stage indulges in animal play-acting and verbal coarseness just like the historic Mozart. Biographers tell of such incidents, and even Mozart's own letters reveal a liking for nursery rhyme patterns. In letter 236 to his cousin Maria Anna, for instance, he signs off with "your little old piggy wiggy / Wolfgang Amadé Rosy posy / Addio, booby looly." Another letter bears the words "Oidda / Gnagflow Trazom" - his name in reverse.

The striking contrast between the sublimity of his compositions and the shocking ease of indecency was felt by many of Mozart's contemporaries, including members of his own family. Joseph Lange, his brother-in-law, wrote: "Never did Mozart seem less of a great man in word and deed than when he was composing an important opus. In such moments, he did not only speak in a confused manner, but also made jokes of the sort that you would never expect, yea, he even cared less about his behaviour deliberately (…) Either he covered his inner efforts with outer frivolity or he indulged in contrasting the celestial musical ideas with the caprices of every-day life, the result being a kind of self-irony. I think it possible that such a distinguished artist neglects and downgrades his character out of an ardent admiration of art."

Mozart's father Leopold also spoke of the two extremes which his son was split into: "There are two antipodal sides of him - too much or too little and no way in between."

One must not forget, however, that Leopold himself contributed to his son's unbalanced nature. Mozart's sister, Nannerl, has been quoted as saying that "Outside of music he was, and remained nearly always, a child. This was the chief trait of his character on its shady side. He always needed a father, mother or other guardian." Leopold had soon confined his son into the role of a cute child prodigy, a young pianist with small hands who was carted around Europe to perform. The religious motivation for this - showing one of God's wonders to the world - is not entirely water-proof. The commercial idea was fairly plain. From an early age on, Mozart relied heavily on his father, and this strong emotional dependence continued to exist even when he was an adult.

After Mozart's death, his widow Constanze added to the creation of a 'clean memory' by altering letters and other documents; some texts were even held back or replaced by new ones. One may ask, however, if it is not these little irregularities that generate a more honest access to the life of a composer who still excerts so much fascination on the minds of posterity. Shaffer stressed that he wanted audiences to know Mozart better and more totally - to know a genius of far greater complexity than granted by standard portraits. Still, what he depicts is a distillate of Mozart's boorishness, which is clearly a dramaturgical prerequisite for the evolving conflict with Salieri. Drama is made of conflict, and only conflict and the characters' attempts to cope generate a captivating story such as told in "Amadeus".

It would be wrong, however, to claim that Shaffer fuelled the play at the expense of the Salzburg-born composer. Despite the frostiness of their relationship, Salieri's admiration of Mozart's music is genuine, and behind the detailed description of pieces like the Serenade for Thirteen Wind Instruments or the C Minor Mass shines Shaffer's own praise of the genius. After all, the title of the play is "Amadeus" - a tribute to the one whose music is associated with "such gaiety of spirit", "such ease of manner", and "such natural charm".