At a time when you aren’t able to visit National Theatre Live venues or local theatres, we’re excited to bring you National Theatre at Home. It is a pleasure to report that the 14th Travelex season at the National has got off to such a triumphant start. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Introducing National Theatre at Home. Share. Less, actually, would be more – but even so, he wrests sympathy for this gifted misfit in the closing stages, as he lies prone on a piano (tended by Karla Crome’s Constanze, the role once taken by Kendal), with the requiem mass engulfing the auditorium as if we are being taken right inside his mind. (l to r) Lucian Msamati and Adam Gillen in ‘Amadeus.’ (Photo: Marc Brenner) Before winning eight Academy Awards for the 1984 film adaptation, Amadeus soared on the stage.Peter Shaffer’s play premiered at the National Theatre in 1979, then went on to Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Play. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Amadeus, Olivier, National Theatre, London, review: Adam Gillen delivers the most moving portrayal of Mozart seen since Michael Sheen played the role 20 years ago NT At Home – from War Horse to I Want My Hat Back, could this be the lockdown 3 cavalry. Matt Trueman; Locations. The anti-hero's conscious awareness of posterity is built on here in ways that brilliantly amplify our sense of what he went through and of the emptiness of his temporally parochial pyrrhic victory. The role of arch-villain Salieri, a man forced to confront his own mediocrity by the arrival on the Viennese scene of the prodigious young Mozart, has been entrusted to Lucian Msamati. Back in 1979, rehearsing Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus for its premiere run at the National Theatre, Felicity Kendal just knew that it “was going to be a classic… we could smell it.” And so Shaffer’s accomplished and daring fictionalised account of the (mutually fatal, he suggested) relationship between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and fellow composer (the Austrian imperial Kapellmeister) Antonio Salieri proved – leaping to the West End, then to Broadway, and then onto the big screen, to Oscar-winning effect. Salieri, initially pictured in his last, wheel-chair ridden days, provides the running commentary on the play’s tightly plotted action of growing vengeance (against both the infantile-acting, carefree genius and the God who sanctions his superior talent) but Msamati doesn’t comment in turn on Salieri’s skulduggery. In taking on the mantle of the “patron saint of mediocrities”, he follows in the footsteps of the hallowed Paul Scofield, who originated the role – as well as Ian McKellen, David Suchet and F Murray Abraham in the film version, among others. I am in two minds about Adam Gillen’s performance as Mozart. Review: Amadeus. Musically, the National Theatre’s 2016 production of Peter Shaffer’s 1979 play -- a recording of which is being streamed online through July 23 -- arguably shares something of the same fate as Mozart’s supposed rival Salieri. National Theatre: Amadeus - See 1,096 traveller reviews, 242 candid photos, and great deals for London, UK, at Tripadvisor. Review: Amadeus, The National Theatre. Giving the musicians such a live central presence allows the production to present that impact as like a physical and metaphysical assault. Has Covid ruined Britain’s next generation of stars? Vienna: the music capital of the world. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. Directed by Michael Longhurst, Tim Van Someren. The play dramatises the consequences of the momentous impact that hearing Mozart’s sublime music made on the “patron saint of mediocrity”. Amadeus streamed as part of National Theatre at Home, on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel, from Thursday 16 to Thursday 23 July.. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Originally staged in 1976 and brought to acclaim by the likes of Paul Scofield and Ian McKellen, Longhurst has big shoes to fill. National Theatre: Amadeus - See 1,096 traveler reviews, 242 candid photos, and great deals for London, UK, at Tripadvisor. Awestruck by his genius, court composer Antonio Salieri has the power to promote his talent or destroy it. Michael Longhurst's new production of the play about Mozart has gathered mostly four and five star reviews. Plus, for the first time ever, we’re releasing a treasure trove of plays from the National Theatre Archive. As he drops the pages one by one, unable to bear the beauty of what reads, the Sinfonia’s glorious performances of them get abruptly aborted but the mobile platform of steps on which they are standing continues bear down like an implacable juggernaut on the writhing and retching Salieri. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. The latest offers and discount codes from popular brands on Telegraph Voucher Codes, Adam Gillen and Lucian Msamati as Mozart and Salieri, A scene from the National's production of Amadeus, As the cancellations mount, so do the fears about theatre's likely return, Prince songs and pole-dances: the London International Mime Festival is (quietly) back, Public Domain, Southwark Playhouse, review: like social media, it demands attention but leaves you feeling empty, Las Vegas’s wildest love story: the magical, tragic lives of Siegfried & Roy, The Inquest is a murderously enjoyable chance to put the world to rights. Read our review. Our critics rating: Average press rating: Date: Friday, 28 October, 2016. Review by: Dom O'Hanlon. Visit National Theatre at Home. The superb Lucian Msamati has multiplied the moments of dry, deadpan, deflationary humour in the confidential outpourings of a protagonist who knows that he's the butt of one of the deity's crueller and more tasteless jokes – given unique responsiveness to Mozart's genius, irredeemably second rate, and mocked further by still ever-rising worldly success. Gillen, with a shock of bright (bleached?) Jul. This is the first time that Peter Shaffer’s play has returned to the scene of its original triumph in 1979. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a rowdy young prodigy, arrives determined to make a splash. National Theatre: Amadeus!! Read our review. The return of Amadeus to the National Theatre has struck the right note with critics. Amadeus – National Theatre at Home Reviewer: Helen Tope. We’re all about experiencing theatre together. Amadeus, National Theatre . Start your Independent Premium subscription today. He plays the part with dead-pan straightforwardness and sly bitter joviality. The Southbank Sinfonia are integrated into the world of the play to stunning effect in this regard. Adam Gillen as Mozart in Amadeus at the National Theatre, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Amadeus review: A thrillingly fresh and imaginative revival, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Amadeus, National Theatre Revival of Peter Shaffer’s most famous play is a musical triumph . Amadeus is at the National Theatre from 18 th January until 24 th April 2018. Photo: Marc Brenner A scene from Amadeus, centre Lucian Msamati as Antonio Salieri with members of the Southbank Sinfonia. Michael Higgs Photos: Marc Brenner. The Reviews Hub - London 17/07/2020. by Rachel Halliburton Friday, 17 July 2020. Amadeus is available to view on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel from 16 th July until 23 rd July 2020. Writer: Peter Shaffer. The actor sensibly doesn’t try to give the part grand gothic gravitas. - See 1,096 traveler reviews, 242 candid photos, and great deals for London, UK, at Tripadvisor. Malignant envy: Lucian Msamati in 'Amadeus' Marc Brenner. Wonderfully made with amazing music and one of my favourite best actor performances (F Murray Abraham) ever. What a terrible pity that the author, who died in June at the age of 90, did not survive to see Michael Longhurst’s thrillingly fresh and imaginative revival of the piece. The production assembles and reassembles itself – a virtuosic whirl of bits of scenery (design by Chloe Lanford), fantastic singers, excerpts from the operas that, in their aesthetic, become wittily and pointedly ahead of their time. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Author. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. July 16 ‘Amadeus’ by Peter Shaffer, starring Lucian Msamati. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Adam Gillen delivers the most moving portrayal of Shaffer's version of Mozart that I have seen since Michael Sheen played the role opposite David Suchet's Salieri nearly 20 years ago. The revival of Peter Shaffer’s play stars Lucian Msamati as Salieri and Adam Gillen as Mozart, with live orchestral accompaniment by Southbank Sinfonia, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. blonde hair, and a baby-voice that would make the most tolerant type want to throttle him, pushes Mozart’s insouciance so far that he’s often loping about the place with a Quasimodo-like gait. Back for 2018: Amadeus, National Theatre ★★★★★ 02 Jan 18 – 24 Apr 18 , 7:30 PM – 10:20 PM Michael Longhurst's spirited, sell-out 2016 revival of Amadeus is still superlative From the initially ridiculous to the sublime. Adam Gillen and Lucian Msamati in Amadeus at the National Theatre. He challenges God to strike him down for destroying genius. Olivier theatre, London Musicians are thrust centre … Historically, "Amadeus" is baloney. Director: … Not only do we hear the excerpts of Mozart’s masterpieces in gorgeous splendour (snippets of The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni included) but Simon Slater has provided additional music, to create a flow of incidental (and often wryly pointed) accompaniment. With Lucian Msamati, Adam Gillen, Karla Crome, Sarah Amankwah. Longhurst has let the air of today into Amadeus in bravura fashion. For more info, session times and tickets visit the Arts Centre website here: http://bit.ly/2kgoZ0TMusic. Amadeus, National Theatre at Home review – wild dance at the edges of sanity As Mozart, Adam Gillen erupts onto the stage as a Tourette’s tornado. Amadeus review – a lush, high-voltage revival Olivier, London Adam Gillen’s Mozart and Lucian Msamati’s Salieri share the honours as Peter Shaffer’s 1979 hit returns to the National 1984's 'Amadeus', an adaptation of Peter Schaffer's play (a great one and the historical inaccuracies never bothered me), is one of my all-time favourite films (top 10 actually). Loading... What a homecoming this is. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Back in 1979, rehearsing Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus for its premiere run at the National Theatre, Felicity Kendal just knew that it “was going to be a classic… we could smell it. It takes the form of a fictionalised confession in which the dying Salieri, court composer to Joseph II of Austria, relives through extended flashbacks the story of his envy of Mozart and his furious quarrel with God. For further information or to book visit the theatre… One big sadness of the night – that Shaffer, who died in June, wasn’t able to see his masterpiece in its latest incarnation. Marc Brenner. From 22 January 2018 - 24 April 2018, buy Amadeus tickets. Watch Amadeus below or at National Theatre. Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer which gives a fictional account of the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, first performed in 1979.It was inspired by Alexander Pushkin's short 1830 play Mozart and Salieri, which Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used in 1897 as the libretto for an opera of the same name.. Now it has returned to its home, the National, in a note-perfect production by rising director Michael Longhurst that gives it a fresh, vital and musically inventive new reading, one which fully confirms its classic status. The British-Tanzanian actor was the first black actor to play Iago at the RSC - brilliantly. Msamati's wonderfully sardonic rapport with the audience signals the mismatch between the Luciferian dimensions of the project and the petty mean-spirited nature of the execution as he reduces his rival to penury through fatal career advice and blocked appoints. Stream review of Amadeus (Peter Shaffer) from National Theatre at National Theatre Live - reviewer: David Chadderton British Theatre Guide News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre … Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a rowdy young prodigy, arrives in Vienna, the music capital of the world - and he's determined to make a splash. In modern black mufti, they can easily become a chorus that comments on the action in wheezing anachronistic discords or in clambering mime. Review of Amadeus at the National Theatre. Salieri invokes us as “Ghosts of the future” to hear a saga wherein he foresees the warped immortality he will achieve as the nemesis of a genius. We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. Director Michael Longhurst stages an exuberant and poignant revival of playwright Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, who died in June last year. The astonishing story of Orson Welles's 'Voodoo Macbeth', ‘I don’t really feel part of society any more’: why UK culture’s ‘excluded’ are at breaking point, UK festivals need just one thing in order to return for summer 2021 – insurance, How Britain’s theatres and venues became the heart of the vaccine rollout, Swingin' the Dream, RSC, review: when Louis Armstrong was cast as Bottom as jazz met Shakespeare, Five years on, David Bowie's Lazarus is still utterly bamboozling. Did Noel Coward really believe in ghosts? More info. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Once you have watched Amadeus, you can understand why it was chosen for the National Theatre’s last screening. Amadeus, National Theatre | reviews, news & interviews. REVIEW: AMADEUS (National Theatre) ★★★★ October 27, 2016 // By: West End Wilma // Plays, Reviews // Comments are off Before the curtain rose for Michael Longhurst’s main stage debut at the National Theatre, Rufus Norris and Nicholas Hytner paid tribute to the late Howard Davies, one of the great theatre directors of his generation, who will be sorely missed. Kate Pesenti revels in the majestic power-play of the National Theatre’s Amadeus, the last production in their live line-up. Tinkling the ivories: Adam Gillen in ‘Amadeus’. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. London; West End; 27 October 2016. Nimax plans Covid testing hub for its West End theatres, Even my icy heart melted at the sight of this charming Snow Queen, ‘The cancellations get blamed on us’: how theatre’s frontline workers are coping with the pandemic. National Theatre At Home bring you the final play of their free streams; Amadeus. Four months after his death, Peter Shaffer's operatic epic returns to the stage on which it started - and in some style too. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. For more information on National Theatre at Home, click here. Amadeus review – stunning production pits Salieri against God, Mozart and his own orchestra. Populist playwright Peter Shaffer, who died in June, gets a rapid honour from this flagship venue, … You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. On one level it is virtuosic – here is the simpering, giggling, infantile enfant terrible who is so busy casually showing off, he fails to notice how many of the stuffy courtiers standing around him are being permanently alienated. 2 minutes read. BWW Review: AMADEUS, National Theatre At Home by Aliya Al-Hassan. National Theatre: Amadeus!! Review: Amadeus, National Theatre Fred Maynard October 30, 2016 Reviews Theatre 1170 views If ever there was a play which adhered to the dictum “show not tell”, it is Amadeus, the story of the patron saint of mediocrities, Antonio Salieri, and his battle with God over the unjust distribution of talent he sees incarnate in the figure of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The most striking aspect of the evening – which seems faintly to rush by, despite being three hours long – is that the production harnesses the talents of the Southbank Sinfonia to play the music we usually hear in pre-recorded bursts. Salieri's quarrel is not with Mozart but with God for speaking through a potty-mouthed upstart rather than through a diligent virtuous plodder like himself. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. The Break A Leggers review Amadeus by Peter Shaffer at the Olivier space National Theatre London. Musanna Ahmed Photo: Marc Brenner. Olivia Lunn January 21, 2018 Reviews Theatre 312 views. More than that, the ensemble of musicians form an integral part of the action, stalking Chloe Lamford’s stripped-back, abstract stage-area (which flies in painted scene-cloths and utilises a bare-bones proscenium-arch stage as the occasion demands). It’s an Iago-like part – of stealthy duplicity and false bonhomie - and one that Msamati is supremely well able to take on. Laughing like a hyena on speed and lunging round in his gold knickerbockers with all the decorous restraint of Rik Mayall from The Young Ones during a bad bout of Tourette’s, he gives you sudden glimpses of sensitivity and is on a wonderfully paced continuum with the desperate man-child whose battles to continue exercising his gift are almost too painful to watch in the final sequences. Theatre Review: ‘Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side,’ Round House Theatre in association with McCarter Theatre Center Theatre Review: ‘Amadeus’ streaming from the National Theatre, London Posted By: Dr. Mark Dreisonstok on: July 20, 2020 Well, we went in humming Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus” and we were still humming it on the way out. I feel sure he’d have approved. Review: Amadeus, National Theatre ***** Sir Peter Shaffer's award-winning play based on the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri is enjoying a revival It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Share. Watch National Theatre Live recordings, filmed in high definition for cinema to capture all the twists and turns, laughter and heartbreak. Theatrically, it’s a feast. Review – Amadeus, National Theatre Wednesday 9 November 2016 . 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