by Peter Shaffer
a show by Ferdinando Bruni e Francesco Frongia with Ferdinando Bruni, Daniele Fedeli, Valeria Andreanò, Riccardo Buffonini, Matteo de Mojana, Alessandro Lussiana, Ginestra Paladino, Umberto Petranca, Luca Toracca
set design by Marina Conti, Giancarlo Centola, Tommaso Serra
produced by Teatro dell'Elfo with the contribution of NEXT Laboratorio delle idee for the production and programming of the Lombardy show

Peter Shaffer drew inspiration from the legend that Antonio Salieri poisoned Mozart out of envy. The play, which premiered in London in 1979, gained fame thanks to Miloš Forman's film, which won eight Oscars. In Bruni/Frongia's production, the text is transformed into a sumptuous and hallucinatory dream. Ferdinando Bruni plays an elderly Salieri, while Daniele Fedeli portrays a rebellious and gifted Mozart. Antonio Marras' costumes blend eighteenth-century and modern elements to create a dialogue between eras. Set in Vienna in 1823, the play sees Salieri relive his obsession with Mozart's divine talent. Shaffer portrays envy as a destructive force: Salieri does not kill Mozart, but wants the world to believe that he did in order to remain associated with his name. Betrayed by God, Salieri challenges the Creator in a war between faith, art, and jealousy.