Review
Published: Wednesday 19 August, 2009 by Frank Ruhrmund, The Cornishman
DOES it matter if it seems unlikely that Antonio Salieri murdered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or that the latter is seen as being an obnoxious, not to say "obscene child"?
Not when such propositions, when Salieri and his madness and Mozart and his music, are brought together so dramatically and successfully as they are by Peter Shaffer in Amadeus, and the play is staged so skilfully as it is here by the Bath-based Next Stage company.
All praise to Ann Garner who directs this piece of musical magic with imagination and flair and comes up with a production which, from the first sibilant whisper "Salieri" and the concerted cry "I didn't believe it!" from the men in black, the venticelli or "Little winds", warns us to fasten our safety belts as we are in for a bumpy, but, oh, so beautiful, ride.
While any evening in the theatre which has murder, madness, myth, Mozart and his music, at its core should be a winner, it is the way in which these ingredients are mixed and served that guarantees satisfaction, and with this production Ann Garner emerges as a celebrity chef.
As appetising and as filling as a Vienna schnitzel, from its crowd scenes, its handsomely costumed royal court – it's as good to look at as it is to listen to – to its more intimate moments, from its slick shifting of furniture and changing of scenes to its actual story telling, it is as smooth as the sea was on its opening night.
The members of its strong cast, from courtiers to the citizens of Vienna, are splendid, with noteworthy performances from Nicky Williams and Ian Garforth, trouble in tandem, whose timing, as the already mentioned venticelli or gossip-mongers, is spot on, and who are as elegant as they are sinister: Mark Sanders as the fete and fireworks-loving, Joseph II, "Well, there it is" Austrian Emperor and Liz Wilson as a delicious "nibble of Venus", the winsome, and surprisingly accommodating and understanding, Constanze, wife of Mozart.
However, as impressive as all of these are, the evening belongs to the two tours-de-force provided by Tom Ash-Miles who, as Mozart, could not be more bouncy or brash, a Peter Pan, giggling genius he convinces that, through his music, he speaks with "the voice of God", and by John Matthews who, as Salieri, is every inch "a small town Catholic full of dread".
Sweet-toothed and savage, Byron-like he is mad, bad and dangerous to know, and when railing against a "Dio Inguisto" – his Italian isn't half bad either – who chooses to reward virtue with nothing more than mediocrity, manages to enlist our sympathy for his plight.
To them both, indeed, to everyone involved with this production, one can but say "Grazie tante" for such a great evening out.