Is Amadeus a true story? The real history of Mozart's feud with Salieri

The Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stands as one of the most iconic figures in musical history. In his short life, he produced more than 800 works, giving him a firm place in the canon of classical music.

Amadeus, a Sky Atlantic miniseries starring Will Sharpe as Mozart, dramatises his ‘golden years’ in Vienna and the rumoured feud between him and fellow composer Antonio Salieri.

Is Amadeus a true story?

No, Amadeus is not a true story. While Amadeus centres on an assumed rivalry between Mozart and Salieri, the story owes far more to theatre than genuine biography.

The miniseries draws heavily on Peter Shaffer’s 1979 play, also called Amadeus, which was inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s 1830 short drama Mozart and Salieri. This was a reimagination of the rumour that Salieri murdered Mozart in a final act of revenge.

The miniseries clearly embraces this dramatic tradition, with Paul Bettany’s Salieri declaring: “He [Mozart] had written a masterpiece, and I was nothing but a spectator.”

There are strands of truth, however. The miniseries takes place during Mozart’s years in Vienna where he did experience huge success, and when he was married to a woman named Constanze Weber (played by Gabrielle Creevy). He and Salieri did also compete as musicians, but in a way that seemed much more professional than vengeful.

Did Salieri murder Mozart?

There is no good evidence that Salieri murdered Mozart. Mozart died on 5 December 1791 in Vienna, at the age of just 35. His early death has led to much mythology, including the theory that his rival Salieri murdered him in a final act of revenge.

This is likely fuelled by Mozart reportedly believing he had been poisoned while on his deathbed, which led people to blame Salieri. The rumours continued for decades afterwards, and Alexander Pushkin strengthened them with his 1830 play Mozart and Salieri.

Templeton addresses this directly, stating “He wasn’t poisoned by Salieri. That’s another myth that we have. He was ill.”

There are also rumours of Mozart being buried in a pauper’s grave. “They’re not true,” says Templeton. “He is buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna because that was the custom of the time for ordinary middle-class people.”

So how did Mozart die? It remains the subject of speculation, but Templeton puts it down to rheumatic fever, an inflammatory disease affecting the joints. This is in line with what was described on his death certificate as a ‘heated miliary fever’.

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Who was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, and is now famous for his talents as a composer. Some of his most famous operas include The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro, alongside instrumental works including Symphony No. 40 and No. 41 Jupiter, and choral compositions.

He was the last of seven children, though only he and his sister Maria Anna (known as Nannerl) survived infancy. As might be predicted, the family were not short of musical talent. His father, Leopold, was a court composer and a highly educated man.

As Hannah Templeton explains on this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, “He taught his children everything they knew musically – but they were also educated in maths, languages, religion… he was a very educated man and he ensured that his children were as well.”

Mozart’s brilliance emerged early. By the age of three, he could play keyboard pieces and at five, he was taken to Vienna to perform for Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa. The success of this performance resulted in a grand tour, where the young Mozart dazzled audiences across Europe.

After his return, he was granted an honorary role as Konzertmeister (concert master) of Archbishop Colloredo’s orchestra at the Salzburg Court, later securing a paid position. But his time there grew strained; he and his father clashed with Mozart’s employer Archbishop Colloredo, whom they felt favoured Italian musicians and restricted creative freedom.

Seeking greater opportunities, Mozart travelled widely in his early adulthood. His ultimate break came in 1781 when he moved to Vienna, marking the beginning of his ‘golden years’ as depicted in Amadeus.

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Who was Antonio Salieri?

Although less famous than Mozart today, Antonio Salieri was an incredibly successful Italian composer during his lifetime. His operas include Armida, Les Danaïdes and Europa Riconosciuta.

Also a teacher and subject of the Habsburg monarchy, he was appointed as the director of Italian opera by the Habsburg court and held the post between 1774 and 1792, making him the name in Italian opera in Vienna at the time.

But his name stretched beyond Vienna; he performed throughout Europe and wrote for opera houses in Venice, Rome and Paris.

ven once his own professional career was waning, Salieri was sought after for his teaching ability. His pupils included Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and even Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart.

Were Mozart and Salieri rivals?

The idea of a bitter rivalry between Mozart and Salieri owes more to later retellings than reality. As Templeton notes, “They were friendly colleagues. There was a little bit of rivalry there as well, but no more than professional rivalry.”

This is a very different picture to Amadeus, where Salieri declares “From this time on we are enemies, you and I.”

In real history their relationship could be described more as one of competitors than rivals – a dynamic that would have been encouraged in 18th-century Vienna. Musical contests, including one in 1786 that is often cited as evidence of a conflict between the two men, were standard practice in the court of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1780-1790).

In fact, Mozart and Salieri even composed music together. In 1785, they co-wrote the cantata Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia to celebrate singer Nancy Storace’s recovery. Would two bitter rivals really compose a song together to mark such an event?

What was Mozart’s relationship with Constanze Weber?

Constanze was Mozart’s wife, but she was not his first choice within the Weber family. He first fell in love with Constanze’s older sister Aloysia, though she did not return his feelings. Years later, while lodging with the Weber family, he began a relationship with Constanze.

“The circumstances around which they got together are a little bit unclear,” says Templeton. Rumours might have circulated about their inappropriate behaviour before marriage, and Mozart briefly moved out of the Weber home. Constanze’s mother might have also pressured Mozart to marry her daughter.

His early letters also reveal mixed feelings; Templeton notes that Mozart described Constanze as having “no wit, but … enough common sense to enable her to fulfil her duties as a wife and mother”.

Despite this rocky beginning, and his father Leopold’s initial disapproval, their marriage seems to have been affectionate and supportive. “By all accounts, those letters read really tenderly [and are] quite witty. They clearly have a really good relationship,” Templeton observes.

Tragedy, however, marked their family life. Of their six children, only two survived to adulthood, a stark parallel to the experiences of Mozart’s own parents.

Was Mozart a prankster?

Mozart did have a reputation as a bit of a prankster. In fact, the same man responsible for beautiful compositions wrote a piece in around 1782 titled Leck mic him Arsch, which means ‘lick me in the arse’ and can be understood in English as ‘kiss my arse’. It didn’t stop there, and he wasn’t afraid to use scatological humour in his correspondence.

His mischievousness began early. It would be easy to view the young Mozart travelling around Europe as a serious young prodigy, but stories recount how he would deliberately play wrong notes during concerts to see if the audience would notice.

This continued into his adult – and professional – life. For example, he would test the musical abilities of those performing his compositions, writing piano pieces that leapt between high and low notes, intending to frustrate the performer.

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