SIDENOTE: Over the past 2 weeks, Abddaimi Marouane offered a discussion question on the LinkEds & Writers Group on the LinkedIn network: “What is your favorite quote?” He received tons of quote responses, including one of mine. What was unexpected was the response to my quote by several contributors, including Abddaimi’s. The quote was from Peter Shaffer’s Broadway play AMADEUS. Unfortunately, the quote was not repeated in its entirety in the movie version. This blog is devoted to Shaffer’s memorable words.
QUOTE FROM AMADEUS
Writers love the words of other writers that stop them in their tracks, as brought to my attention by Susan Greene. In 1980, I was stopped before I knew I was a writer or had any tracks. I attended a performance of AMADEUS by playwright Peter Shaffer (Equus, Five Finger Exercise) at the National Theatre in Washington, DC, prior to its Broadway run. The play just completed a stint at the National Theatre of Great Britain.
On the surface, this play was about the tragic life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. But it was much more than that. Shaffer tackled the theme of conflict between the unruly genius, represented by Mozart (played by a very young Tim Curry), and disciplined mediocrity, represented by his nemesis Antonio Salieri (played by the brilliant Ian McKellen).
SALIERI'S SOLILOQUY: At the end of the play after Mozart’s death, Salieri, who was by now the successful career musician and court composer to the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, reflects on the quality of his life as a composer and his contributions compared to Mozart’s. While Shaffer’s message is not new, its eloquence is worth pondering. Feast your eyes and mind on this gourmet word buffet in Salieri’s soliloquy.
Unfortunately, due to the word-limit of this blog and the length of the quote, it must be deferred until tomorrow. Hold your pondering and feasting. You don’t want to miss those incredible words.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
No comments:
Post a Comment