'Amadeus' at the National Theatre

Last week we went to see the new production of 'Amadeus' on the big Olivier stage at the National Theatre. I saw an exciting production of 'Amadeus' at Chichester two year ago with Rupert Everett in the main role as Salieri so I'm familiar with the story of the play, but what would the National do with it? The play is actually sold out until February next year so, it appears, I'm not the only one that's interested to see what it would do with the play it first staged - after all, that's where it was first performed all those years ago.

Although named for Amadeus Mozart, the tale is actually about Antonio Salieri, an Italian composer at the court of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor at Vienna. Salieri is the court composer at the time that Mozart settles in Vienna hoping to make his name and fortune and the play starts with Salieri as an old man looking back to when he knew Mozart. The glory of Mozart's works is spoiled for Salieri by his crass behaviour and that is the start of the spiralling downfall of Mozart at Salieri's hands. Feigning to be a friend and supporter, he plots the downfall of his rival and sees him reduced to penury and illness, finally dying. All as part of Salieri's war with God for granting Mozart the gift of great music rather than himself.

The empty Olivier stage is soon full of chairs for the Southbank Sinfonia that provides the music for the production and is on stage rather than in a pit, adding to the busy-ness of the play. They don't stay on stage for long, though, and start playing here, there and everywhere as needed but are ever-present since music fills the play, sometimes in period costume and sometimes not. More often than not I'd say that this would be a distraction from the 'real' play but I actually quite enjoyed it, with the musicians and actors playing off each other.

I really liked the staging, a relatively bare stage transformed every so often into a crowded salon or concert venue allowing the mind to wonder and wander into different scenarios. One minute the royal palace and the next a bawdy house show that becomes 'The Marriage of Figaro' or some other grand opera. It's all very imaginative and very well done. Well done to Michael Longhurst and Chloe Lamford for having the vision to make it all work.

Of course, the play is really about the relationship between Salieri and Mozart, in this case Lucian Msamati and Adam Gillen. I've seen Lucian a few times in previous National Theatre productions but Adam is a new name to me. They worked well together, the serious older musician and the younger want to have fun while producing great music without thinking about it. Lucian feigns an Italian accent (presumably to distinguish himself from the German-speaking court) and that sometimes got a bit too thick to easily follow but he ably leads the play. The other main character is Constanze, Mozart's wife, played by Karla Crome as a great East End fishwife.

I really liked this production and Lucian as the jealous. scheming Salieri holding it all together. The staging and lighting were imaginative and I loved having the orchestra on the stage as participants in the play rather than accompanists. I think I'd like to see it again!

'Amadeus' at Chichester Festival Theatre

Yesterday we got the train down to Chichester in rural West Sussex to the shiny new Chichester Festival Theatre for the matinee performance of 'Amadeus' with Rupert Everett in the lead as Salieri. I've never seen the play or the film so I didn't know what to expect but I was hit quite forcefully by Rupert's tireless performance and his rage at God.

'Amadeus' is the tale of Mozart's period of living in Vienna as an adult after touring Europe as a child prodigy. Mozart escapes the authority of his father and marries for love in Vienna while continuing to seduce as many women as possible. Salieri rules the music scene in Vienna as the court composer who is driven to distraction by the perfection of Mozart's music and plots his downfall.

The story is told in flashback with Salieri an old man in a wheelchair who transforms into his younger self with a smudge of paint on his eyebrows, a dark wig and throwing off his dressing gown. He is transformed into the upright Salieri of his youth encountering Mozart for the first time and having to run from the salon because of the sheer beauty of Mozart's playing. Salieri had previously made a pact with God that he would become a great composer but, somehow, God has undermined this pact by throwing Mozart into the mix and Salieri comes to see this as a war against God who uses Mozart as his weapon.

In typical Faustian manner, as Salieri's star rises Mozart descends into drunkenness and poverty, eventually dying. But years later it's Mozart's music that is played everywhere and not Salieri's so his last throw of the dice is to claim that he killed Mozart so his name will live forever linked to his hated Mozart. It seems to have worked.

Rupert Everett is the star of the show, on stage the whole time in what must be an exhausting performance. He is haughty, charming, feeble when old and vigorous when in his prime. His is a commanding presence on that stylishly baroque stage with minimal scenery or props, a piano on stage much of the time, a few chairs, chandeliers in the air and glass sliding doors all delivering an impression of opulence and grandeur fit for the Austro-Hungarian Emperor in the 1780s.

We have the potty-mouthed, childish Mozart as the enfant-terrible and genius of music stamping round the stage talking about shit and spanking, bringing challenge to the musical establishment of the court and city of Vienna, so wanting to please but continually failing. Joshua McGuire is the grotesque of Mozart for most the play before he becomes a figure of pity in the final scenes, desperate to please but never able to do so. Jessie Buckley plays Mozart's long-suffering wife and very good she is too, clearly the more adult of the two lovers but also capable of descending into lewdness.  She plays a nice line between long-suffering wife and harlot and in the final scene we see her selling Mozart's scores by the note.

I thought the whole cast were great, with the twin chorus gentlemen in grey appearing and disappearing in a blink with news about Mozart, repeating what they say and swirling round in frock coats. Simon Jones was great as the Emperor, not engaged and avoiding any and all arguments or need to make a decision (I missed his dressing gown though).

I hope this production transfers to the West End soon. It's a short run at Chichester and is only on for another two weeks and is definitely worth seeing.