The stream will be available on the National Theatre’s Youtube Channel from July 16 at 7pm (London time) to July 23.Īmadeus is the last in the lineup of prestigious productions streamed by the National Theatre since April. Recognizing the young man’s genius, Salieri is determined to destroy him and begins a vicious rivalry that escalates to a war with man, music, and even, God. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart.Īmadeus is set in Vienna, the music capital of the world, where court composer Antonio Salieri is threatened by the arrival of rowdy upstart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It won the 1981 Tony Award for Best Play and was adapted into the 1984 Academy Award-winning film starring F. Mozart made a number of trips in his last years, and while his health had been fragile in previous times, he displayed no serious condition or illness until he developed a fever of unknown origin near the end of 1791.Amadeus was written by Peter Shaffer and opened at the West End in 1979 before moving to Broadway. Le nozze di Figaro came 1786, Don Giovanni in 1787, Così fan tutte in 1790 and Die Zauberflöte in 1791. Many of his commissions were for operas now, and Mozart met them with a string of masterpieces. In the early- and mid-1780s, Mozart composed many sonatas and quartets, and often appeared as soloist in the fifteen piano concertos he wrote during this period. He would later write music for certain Masonic lodges. In 1784, Mozart joined the Freemasons, apparently embracing the teachings of that group. 1782 was also the year that saw his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail staged with great success. In 1782 Mozart married Constanze Weber and took her to Salzburg the following year to introduce her to his family. He received a number of commissions now and took on a well-paying but unimportant Court post. After a conflict with the Archbishop, Mozart left his Konzertmeister post and settled in Vienna. In 1780, Mozart wrote his opera Idomeneo, which became a sensation in Munich. He wrote all his violin concertos between 17, as well as Masses, symphonies, and chamber works. In 1773, Mozart was back in Austria, where he spent most of the next few years composing. Beginning that same year, the Mozarts made three tours of Italy, where the young composer studied Italian opera and produced two successful efforts, Mitridate and Lucio Silla. In 1769, Mozart was appointed Konzertmeister at the Salzburg Court by the Archbishop. Keyboard concertos and other major works were also coming from his pen now. The following year young Wolfgang composed his first opera, Apollo et Hyacinthus. The Mozart family returned to Salzburg in November 1766. In the years 1763 - 1766, Mozart, along with his father Leopold, a composer and musician, and sister Nannerl, also a musically talented child, toured London, Paris, and other parts of Europe, giving many successful concerts and performing before royalty. At the age of seven, for instance, he picked up a violin at a musical gathering and sight-read the second part of a work with complete accuracy, despite his never having had a violin lesson. There are many astonishing accounts of the young Mozart's precocity and genius. Young Wolfgang gave his first public performance at the age of five at Salzburg University, and in January, 1762, he performed on harpsichord for the Elector of Bavaria. By the age of three he was playing the clavichord, and at four he began writing short compositions. Mozart was the last of seven children, of whom five did not survive early childhood. Even his lesser compositions and juvenile works feature much attractive and often masterful music. His operas, especially his later efforts, are brilliant examples of high art, as are many of his piano concertos and later symphonies. Mozart's best music has a natural flow and irresistible charm, and can express humor, joy or sorrow with both conviction and mastery. Surprisingly, he is not identified with radical formal or harmonic innovations, or with the profound kind of symbolism heard in some of Bach's works. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was not only one of the greatest composers of the Classical period, but one of the greatest of all time.