Robert Clements:

>>On the other hand, is there any reason for this play to be about Mozart
>>and Salieri at all? If not, why is it about Mozart and Salieri?
>
>Because the pseudoissue of Mozart & Salieri is a good, strong narrative
>hook to pin a character study on, in the same way that Homer found it
>useful to tie his story of the Trojan war around Achilleus's rage.  The
>problem with all of your criticisms of Amadeus is that you're criticising
>it for being what it isn't - ie, a study of the creative process - & keep
>avoiding the issues related to what it is, a dramatic text deriving
>(ultimately) from Maestro Salieri's denial of a rumor that he had poisoned
>the young composer.

Actually, I've been trying to find out what it is, rather than what
it's not.  In many cases, I responded to what people told me it was,
and, I admit, I was confused by the purpose of many of Salieri's speeches.
I have no problems at all with your view.  It makes sense to me as a
theatrical piece.  We can disagree on its dramatic merits (I still find
its style as corny and as bald as East Lynne) and whether the characters
it delineates are remotely helpful to an understanding of human nature,
but it *is* an effective work (in that it manipulates an audience) for
the theater.

Steve Schwartz