Antonio Salieri and Viennese Opera

About this book

Many know Antonio Salieri only as Mozarts envious nemesis from the film Amadeus. In this well-illustrated work John A. Rice shows us what a rich musical and personal history this popular stereotype has missed. Bringing Salieri his operas and eighteenth-century Viennese theater vividly to life Rice places Salieri where he belongs: no longer lurking in Mozarts shadow but standing proudly among the leading opera composers of his age. Rices research in the archives of Vienna and close study of his scores reveal Salieri to have been a prolific versatile and adventurous composer for the stage. Within the extraordinary variety of Salieris approaches to musical dramaturgy Rice identifies certain habits of orchestration melodic style and form as distinctively "Salierian"; others are typical of Viennese opera in general. A generous selection of excerpts from Salieris works most previously unpublished will give readers a fuller appreciation for his musical styleand its influence on Mozartthan was previously possible.