Questions for Discussion

1.) Is Amadeus a tragedy? If so, who is the tragic hero?

2.) How are Salieri and Mozart alike? How are they different?

3.) After some research discuss how closely Shaffer gets to the real Salieri and Mozart? Where has he changed things? Why? Does the play convince you that Salieri had a hand in Mozart’s death?

4.) Listen to a real piece of music by Salieri. What is your opinion of his talent?

5.) Do you know someone who is extremely talented? How does that person approach the practices of that talent?

6.) What is the difference between jealousy and envy?

7.) When Salieri realizes how deep young Mozart’s talent goes, he gets angry with God because he has been faithful and worked hard, while the younger man seems to find creation easy. How could have Salieri dealt with his jealousy differently?

8.) Who are the musical geniuses of our age? Who do you think will be remembered one hundred years from now?

9.) If he were alive today, what would Mozart’s music be like? What genre? Why?

Projects

1.) Consider that in the 18th century the populace knew someone’s music through concerts and sheet music. There were no recordings, music videos, or internet. Create a social media presence for Mozart.

2.) Would Mozart have been a Youtuber? Create a Mozart Youtube video, with him as the speaker.

3.)Teachers check out this valuable link on The Mozart Effect below: https://www.education.com/science-fair/article/the-mozart-effect/