[Character Name] Antonio Salieri
[Canon] Mozart: L'Opera Rock
-I uploaded the CD
here for your listening pleasure
-The links to the .avi of the performance and subtitles are here:
pt 1,
pt 2, and
pt 3. The subtitle file is
here. Any questions, feel free to contact me :)
[Point Taken from Canon] Right after he sends Rosenberg off to spread bad rumors about Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro (1786).”
[Age] 36
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] My best guess is IDK. Sexual orientation rules are weird in this musical, and Salieri's orientation is never touched on, nor are we given any hints to his preference (other than his Mozart obsession, but that's another story.) Stephanie literally goes around kissing lots of men in the musical and no one seems to have a problem with this, except the men themselves. Salieri's the only one that manages to avoid being kissed by Stephanie by doing a comical lean-away. Outside of canon, at all the extra concerts and "official music videos" and such, the cast plays up every single ship they can think of. And everyone gets molested by a creepy clown. Don't ask.
[Eye Color] Brown
[Hair Color] Black
[Height] Taller than Mozart 8) No seriously, I have no idea. I'm going to say about 5'10" for now, because that's a little taller than your average Italian guy, and Salieri is originally an Italian boy.
[Other] He's secretly currently psycho. Good times for all.
[Clothing]
I do not think it's possible for those pants to get any tighter... [Background]
As it stands, Salieri’s background pre-musical isn’t touched on at all. What we can glean is that he’s very much in the favor of the Emperor, PimpsefJoseph the II. Whenever they’re in a scene together, the Emperor always seems to turn to Salieri for his opinion. Salieri also works in close contact with the Emperor’s Steward, Rosenberg, and librettist Stephanie. When we first meet Salieri, he’s a silent figure who hovers by the wall, showing little interest in the conversation about Mozart between Rosenberg, Stephanie, and the Emperor. While the other three gentlemen discuss the new composer and his composition in German (Stephanie supportive, Rosenberg not so much,) Salieri seems to find no interest in the discussion, instead finding interest in a glass of wine. It’s not until he’s called on by the Emperor to give his opinion that Salieri actually steps forward. Unlike Rosenberg and Stephanie, Salieri’s opinion is slow and measured, as well as short and to the point, saying that Mozart is talented, yet his inexperience shows. It is only then, once Salieri gives his opinion, that the Emperor makes a decision to support Mozart in performing his opera. However, he also assigns Rosenberg to keep an eye on the proceedings, to ensure that the young composer does his job.
Salieri doesn’t reappear until the rehearsal of Mozart’s opera, following Rosenberg and Stephanie. The rehearsal is in disarray, with frustrated musicians waiting on stage as Mozart chases Constance Weber around the stage in a fit of playful giggles. Salieri looks on as first the Soprano attempts to get Mozart to rehearse, then as Stephanie attempts to get the young composer’s attention. Both are not only brushed off, but made fun of, by Mozart, before he finally gives Salieri and Rosenberg his attention. This is, obviously, not at all proper behavior for one wishing to make himself a place in Vienna and find favor with the Emperor and his court. However, Salieri makes no comment on this, instead presenting Rosenberg to Mozart as the man assigned to keep an eye on the proceedings of Mozart’s rehearsal, for it seems the Emperor is concerned about his work. He is met with sarcastic rebuttal from Mozart, who has no problem striding right up to Salieri and almost getting in his face, asking how the Emperor can be concerned if he has not heard a note of the opera. From here, Rosenberg takes over, rambling on about how there’s ‘too many notes’ and generally saying very little with many words. Mozart responds by mocking him, which of course Rosenberg is not too pleased about, and storms out, calling for Salieri to follow him. Salieri, however, hangs back; stopping Mozart’s pleased laughter with sarcastic applause, and a nearly-deadpan quip: “Bravo, bravo, very nice, your small bit of cleverness. That is, if your music is as good as you claim.” Essentially it’s a “way to go, dumbass” using more polite language. That said, he turns to leave, however, Mozart stops him, calling for him to wait.
Mozart hands Salieri the original copy of his music, asking him if he will listen. This launches into Salieri’s first solo, Le bien qui fait mal, or ‘The Good that Hurts.’ Within the song, Salieri finds himself torn apart completely and manhandled by his own mixed feelings of being both enraptured by, and immensely jealous of Mozart’s music. At the end of the scene, Mozart asks for his opinion: “Well, sir? Too many notes?” Salieri merely responds by telling him that if he keeps to his place, all will be well between them.
As the musical continues, Mozart and Constanze Webber are married. We learn from Rosenberg that Salieri apparently told Rosenberg that the music of Mozart’s first opera (the one that the composer asked Salieri to listen to) was complicated and would confuse the audience. He mocks Salieri, calling him a fool for thinking so, all the while unaware of the very man standing right behind him. Salieri startles Rosenberg just as the latter starts singing through the Overture for Mozart’s Abduction from the Serial by sneaking up behind him. The two exchange words about Mozart’s opera and music, including a back-up plan should Mozart’s music actually succeed in Court. Salieri accepts this with a nod, before the two of them move offstage. The next scene is a party at Mozart’s to celebrate the success of his first opera, and this is where we first learn that Mozart and Salieri are rivals. Salieri’s librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, comes to offer a way for the two of them to work together. With some excited urging from Mozart, they decide to put on The Marriage of Figaro, a French play by Beaumarchais which is forbidden in Austria. However, somehow (assumedly thanks to Da Ponte’s contacts in court,) they get permission from the Emperor to perform the play.
Next we are taken to an actual rehearsal of Figaro, in which the performers are performing a ballet while the emperor watches. Unfortunately, there is no music to go along with them, so they look a bit silly dancing to no music. When the Emperor questions what is happening, we find out that it was Rosenberg that took the ballet out because, according to him, the Emperor abolished ballet in his theater. Rosenberg attempts to defend himself with little success, and when the Emperor asks for Salieri’s opinion, he replies that the removal of the ballet “is an outrage.” The Emperor then instructs Salieri to take over, and Salieri calls for Mozart to begin the ballet again, this time with music. Mozart thanks him, and they get on with the rehearsal. Meanwhile, Salieri and Rosenberg talk off to the side, the latter angry with Salieri for proverbially throwing him to the wolves. Salieri responds that Rosenberg has nothing to worry about, because, due to its subject matter, Figaro is an affront to the nobility. He encourages Rosenberg to go around to where he can in the nobility and spread discontent about Mozart’s work, and when the time is right, he’ll talk to the Emperor and the Emperor will listen to him. Unfortunately, he never gets to that point, as when he goes to sleep that night, he wakes up to find himself in Somarium.
[Personality]
When we first meet Salieri, he’s a quiet, reserved man who seems to walk a carefully plotted line in terms of his opinions that support both sides of an argument. At first, it seems that he is the one following Rosenberg around, keeping quiet unless called upon to comment. However, the more we see of their interactions, it’s clear that Rosenberg is more a puppet, and Salieri is the one quietly pulling the strings of manipulation, rather than the other way around. Curiously, though, at the same time he seems to want to bring about Mozart’s downfall with the Court, in some lights he also seems to support him. At one point, according to Rosenberg, he claims that Mozart’s music is to complex and will confuse the audience, yet at the same time, he says (once Rosenberg is out of earshot) that it is sublime. He also goes so far as to go against Rosenberg briefly, showing a support for Mozart in encouraging the use of his previously removed ballet.
The key to understanding Salieri’s personality and actions is within his three solo songs: Le bien qui fait mal, L’Assasymphonie,and Victime da ma victoire. Though it’s never actually stated in the musical, it’s safe to assume that these songs are all introspective. They aren’t things that happen publicly, but rather are a vehicle to showcase Salieri’s thoughts and feelings; to give us a glimpse into his mind and his motives. These songs show a very different side of Salieri as opposed to the one we’re first presented with.
As we enter into Le bien qui fait mal, the entire song is essentially talking about these two warring emotions within Salieri (heavily alluded to being jealousy and rapture) that are brought about by Mozart’s music. The very first verse clearly states this:
But where does this feeling come from/
Which fascinates me as well as bothers me?/
I tremble, stabbed by its beauty /
It’s like a knife in the soul
Mozart’s music is a creature that both completely enraptures Salieri yet tears him apart. This image is only enforced by the way he is, to put it lightly, manhandled around the stage by the dancers, who represent the very emotions that are tearing him apart from the inside. As the song progresses, we realize what these two warring emotions are doing to his psyche:
Bewitched by mad ideas/
Suddenly my desire rises/
Desire becomes my prison/
Forget reason
Essentially, before hearing Mozart’s music, Salieri was a quiet, reasonable person. The passion and emotion that the music inspires in him has rendered him without reason, which also helps explain his actions as the musical progresses, but we’ll come back to that.
Salieri’s next song, L’Assasymphony or, in English, The Murder Symphony reveals to us just how much Mozart’s music continues to have an effect on him. Within it, he reveals to us that it is driving him nearly mad, to the point where his own talent sounds wrong to his ears and he spends every night awake, plotting his next move.
A concert disturbed by harmony
I play without touching beauty
My talent sounds wrong
Both Le bien qui fait mal and L’Assasymphonie clearly reveal to us Salieri’s motives for wanting Mozart out of the way, however, how do we know that he’s not like this with every Joe that comes along with awesome musical skills? That’s what brings us to Salieri’s third and final solo piece, Victime da ma victoire, or Victim of my Victory. Surprisingly, the song is not about Mozart, but about himself. The victim of his victory is Salieri, not Mozart, because he won the rivalry between them without honor and the end, it is he that is defeated.
Yes I confess, I’m defeated/
By the taste of power/
(I) reached height without raising myself
Salieri feels so much regret over this that, when he hears that Mozart is sick later in the show, he goes to the other composer to offer his assistance in any way possible (and is turned away by Constanze, but that’s another story.)
Honor is an important thing to Salieri, which makes it even more odd that he would forget it without regard to reason. Which brings me to the fact that Salieri’s actions within the musical are sometimes conflicting; raising Mozart up while, at the same time, plotting his downfall in court. The fact is, at no point in time from the point where he hears Mozart’s music for the first time to the moment at which he is ‘victorious’ and Figaro is shut down is Salieri thinking logically. In fact, quite the opposite: instead of logic, Salieri is reacting on raw emotion, and heavily conflicting ones to boot. Emotion is not something that is ruled by reason. As he’s torn between jealousy and sublime rapture, his actions follow them both, and conflict just as much as the two emotions. Being around Rosenberg and in a position of power doesn’t help this any, as he’s able to manipulate Rosenberg into easily doing as he asks.
[Specialties/Abilities] He writes music and teaches music theory, violin and piano :Db
[Affection] Salieri is a private, reserved kind of dude. Do what you want, but I can't guarantee a good reaction.
[Fighting] He is not a fighter, he's a lo...okay, no, he's not a lover, but he's not a fighter either. If you try to fight him, he will probably run away, unless it's some sort of gentleman's thing. He is a composer, not a soldier! Injury and killing, please contact me first, and we'll work something out :>
[Other Permissions] If you are a telepath and would like to see his DEEP INNER TURMOIL I have no problem with that, just ping me first so we can talk about it. If you have general Mozart and Salieri stuff you want to spoil him with, be it Amadeus, the actual Mozart and Salieri or otherwise, be my guest. Anything else, just send me a PM or an email or something. There's a 90% probability I'll be OK with it.
[Relationships]
The html and the text in this section is still under construction >>
♫♫♫♫♫ = Close friend, Confidante
♫♫♫♫ = Friendly, Respectful
♫♫♫ = Neutral, Aquaintences
♫♫ = Dislike
♫ = Deep seething hatred
none = Not sure yet
♫ = Student
Austria (Roderich Edelstein)
♫♫♫♫
Austria is, well...Austria. Salieri respects him, is in awe of him, and considers his approval important above all others.
Euphrasie "Cosette" Fauchelevant
♫♫♫♫, ♫
One of the first people he met in Somarium. A very nice, headstrong young lady.
Suoh Tamaki
♫♫♫♫
He first met Tamaki when he was being chased by vegetables, and subsequently got dragged along. Tamaki is a kind, if not excitable young man. He taught Salieri all the finer details of the Dreamberry.
Jem Carstairs
♫♫♫
He plays the violin! Salieri respects his musical talents.
Alice Liddell
♫♫♫, ♫
A pleasant, if not flighty girl. Very kind, however.
Korea
♫♫
Korea is 20x worse than Stephanie in the groping department, and 100000x more irritating :| He hasn't yet sunk to Mozart-level loathing, though.
Kotarou Sasaki
♫♫♫
Isn't...sure what to make of him. Obviously an over-zealous young man. Also is no longer in Somarium :(
Frederic Francois Chopin
♫♫♫
Austria spoke highly of Chopin, so he has Salieri's interest and respect.
Apollo
♫♫
Salieri finds Apollo irritating, but wouldn't say a thing against him, because he's a God
♫♫♫
Hungary's good opinion matters almost as much to him as Austria's.
Serenity (Sailor Cosmos)
♫♫♫
Salieri doesn't know much about her, other than that she seems like a kind woman who is interested in classical music.
Renge Houshakuji
♫♫♫♫
Renge is definitely on Salieri's good list. They've had a discussion about ballet and music, and an intelligent one at that.
Hideki Motosuwa
♫♫♫
Hideki seems like a nice enough young man.
Mozart (clone)
♫
He really, really doesn't like Clonezart. He reminds him too much of what he dislikes most about Mozart.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
♫-->♫♫♫♫
His feelings for Mozart range between one and four music notes at any given time. As Ria put it: "Salieri has an intense psychologically disturbed tsundere for Mozart."
King Bradley/Wrath
♫
Saying that Salieri is terrified of Wrath would be the understatement of the century.