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Post by Mr Snow on Jan 28, 2018 11:07:51 GMT
I'm writing a new play, it's about a venerated playwright who 'conveniently' dies just before a new ambitious director produces a shock version of his greatest work. It's based on a theatrical rumour that won't go away, even though I've just started it.
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Post by jasper on Jan 28, 2018 14:33:55 GMT
I saw this when Scofield played in the original production. It was reported in the press he was upset that the length of the play meant he missed his last train home, so he spoke his speeches quicker to ensure he made his train. When I saw him he seemed to spew out long lines of dialogue and only breathe at the end of the speech. It made the whole play more interesting.
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Post by Peroni on Feb 13, 2018 22:25:22 GMT
Saw the Saturday matinee from the second row and found it magnificent at times, a bit boring at others. Adam Gillen as Mozart was genius at start - I loved his freak immature passionate spoiled prodigy take on the character, but then after a couple of scenes his interpretation just became so much of the same and even when he was dying I know we were supposed to feel sorry and pity for him but it just didn't work - I was sorry for him all along to be true, as he doesn't seem to have a single moment of peace of mind.
Anyway, some scenes - like the Requiem - are breathtaking, and some others, like the Magic Flute and other opera scenes, are gorgeous too. The exaggerated melodrama of Lucian Msamati made some sense at times, but it was unclear if it was a reference to the circular language of opera or purely pretentious monologues that are just too long. All in all, as an (amateur) classical pianist, I liked it as I liked the movie, but they could've actually been one of my favorites had the actors been better directed.
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2,389 posts
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Post by peggs on Feb 16, 2018 21:49:09 GMT
I enjoyed this, I suspect that going in knowing how Mozart would be played was no bad thing for me but I found Adam Gillen's portrayal stayed on the right side of too much providing that extra contrast to Salieri. I hadn't seen the film or know the story which might have helped as I had no comparison and found this took me along with it nicely. I loved the music, might have to check out some Mozart now, and enjoyed the way the orchestra became part of the whole thing, physically mimicking what was going on. The live music made the neck on the back of my neck stand up at times and was just glorious. Also a tick for the staging, the rather menacing moves of the stage and the sort of stripped back nature. Sitting front row and getting eye contact with Lucian Msamati as he spoke to the audience was a bit of a thrill and I got some nice close ups of those pictured DM boots, it rather made me long for some. It was quite different to anything i'd seen before and drew me in sufficiently that I felt pity for both characters and felt the need to get on Wikipedia on the way home to find out some more about Mozart.
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642 posts
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Post by AddisonMizner on Feb 17, 2018 20:11:06 GMT
Beautiful, breath-taking, spine-tingling, stunning! How many more superlatives can I use for this ingenious piece of theatre, after seeing the matinee performance this afternoon?
Needless to say, I loved it. The staging was superb. Inventive, and as said above - ingenious. It has an operatic sweep that the play really benefits from and suits (based on the subject matter), and the music really lifts it to another place entirely. There were moments of true beauty, that will be etched in my memory for a long time - the Magic Flute sequence, Mozart’s death etc. The moment I heard the Marriage of Figaro finale, and the music to Cosi Fan Tutte, I nearly burst into tears, and the number of goosebump-inducing moments were many. Yes, the music is amplified. Yes, it is sometimes enhanced with recorded sound, not all of it within the period, but the overall result was thrilling. The music, the sets, the direction - everything came together to produce a perfect whole. I loved how the musicians were characters within the piece. I loved how the music informed the physicality and movement. I too loved the slight modernisations. It instantly made me sit up and take notice. It felt fresh, vibrant, alive, and didn’t distract from the overall effect.
The two central performances were excellent. The energy, commitment and physicality on show was inspiring to watch, particularly Adam Gillan’s Mozart. I have read about some people’s issues with the characterisation, but I did not find this cloying at all. It is all there in the text - Mozart is constantly being referred to as the “creature”, as “infantile”, so to me this characterisation is more than justified.
If I could, I would go again, and urge anyone who hasn’t been to go. The three hour running time absolutely flew by, and I wouldn’t change a moment. After something of a slow start (with the National’s HEDDA GABLER tour last weekend - an interesting and thought-provoking production, albeit for me not without its flaws, and not the most compelling afternoon), my 2018 theatre-going has now well and truly begun with AMADEUS. A production bursting with theatrical flair, and one that will take some beating this year.
5 stars.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2018 16:43:23 GMT
Miloš Foreman, director of the film version of 'Amadeus' (amongst others) has died I see. The film was really rather glorious I always thought.
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Post by Jan on Apr 14, 2018 17:06:29 GMT
Miloš Foreman, director of the film version of 'Amadeus' (amongst others) has died I see. The film was really rather glorious I always thought. Paul Scofield refused to go with the original production to Broadway because he didn’t like New York, so McKellen triumphed on Broadway instead. Foreman made McKellen audition for the film and rejected him as he was “too theatrical” so I mark him down a bit for that. |
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Post by theatremadness on Apr 14, 2018 18:20:26 GMT
I've also been recently fascinated, reading Andrew Lloyd Webber's biography, that Milos Foreman was absolutely dead set on ALW playing Mozart in the film!
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