Original subtitles

The following programme contains strong language

and scenes of a sexual nature

From the outset.

It's the Salieris!

Your bride is on the table.

We all know how beholden you are to this Emperor!

A new job has become available.

I was wondering if you might bring me his manuscripts,

make his case for the Emperor.

But you are a woman. I am a man.

This is the way of things now.

Get yourself dressed! Why, have you changed your mind?

A very rude chap...

You're gonna run out of students. Fine!

Stanze!

Pack your trunk. We're going away!

You are throwing away the gift that God gave you.

You selfish little bastard!

♪

Sir, I'm sorry to tell you that your son is dead.

The Mass for Raimund is ready to perform.

Great Mass in C Minor

♪

'From this time on,

we are enemies, you and I.'

Kill the man...

...kill the God.

♪

What's that you're singing? Oh, it's nothing.

A tune I heard.

You go to the concerts?

I go to casinos.

There's usually a string quartet.

Quintet, for that one.

But the tune, it stuck with you?

I haven't been able to get it out my head.

Do you know who wrote it?

No.

I do.

♪

Keep singing it. ♪

Second movement - Andante.

Subdominant key of C major.

♪ It enters your brain,

tunnelling into your subconscious like a spell.

Yes.

I didn't come here for absolution, you understand?

Not... Not for pleasure.

I can give you whatever you came here for. Just keep singing.

Enchant me like the Pied Piper.

Like a rat?

What would you do, if you caught a rat?

Would you be kind to it?

No. No, you'd want to punish it,

Wouldn't you?

You'd want to hurt it, crush it.

Harder!

Harder. Please.

Piano Concerto No.20 in D Minor

Woo-hoo!

♪

Did I ever tell you I was a priest

at the Church of San Luca?

I mean, the whole of Venice is beautiful,

assuming you like canals - which I don't, actually.

Although I do think I was rather good

at the whole priest thing...

Save for the mistress.

I had two children with her, which...

Anyway, they defrocked me, if you can believe it.

Banished from Venice! Yes, I can believe that, actually.

The Emperor and his constant need for reforms!

I mean, it's outrageous. Child labour outlawed,

Peasants allowed to move wherever they want... How is Constanze these days?

She worries sometimes about, you know... my students, and so on.

Your students? Yes, my students. They're drying up.

Anyway, more importantly,

the Emperor has commissioned me to write another opera!

I did hear that. What's it about? No idea!

I was gonna ask you, would you like to be a part of it?

Fancy putting some words to the music?

Well, I'm sorry, darling,

but I have another master.

Do you?

That's funny. He never used to come to these things.

Ah, I think lately he's grown something of a dark side.

What do you mean? Well, I heard

that they don't see him much at church on Sundays any more.

Let's just say that.

That's not going to happen to us!

The Emperor slaps the faces of the aristocracy,

asks us to turn the other cheek and thank him

Hello. Oh, hi.

I don't really have anything to say to you. I just thought,

if someone didn't step in and start talking to you,

you might've murdered one of those men. Oh, I might still.

I'm Franz Suessmayr. Are you a friend of my husband's?

Oh, no. Just... an admirer.

Oh!

Oh, well, you fit in well here, then. Very well.

Hm! I saw you sing last year. Mm? The Mass.

Yes, I... I still think about it.

Anyway, I'm glad I met you.

Have a nice evening.

Court Composer.

Excuse me.

What happened to your eye? Oh...

I slipped getting out of the bath.

They're death traps. Mm!

My wife insists on having two a month!

I tell her she's taking her life into her hands.

How's the new work? Oh, good.

Les Horaces. Operatic tragedy.

An operatic tragedy!

Well, it's been at least five minutes since the last one

The librettist? Da Ponte.

Ugh! Feckless creature.

Ah, Lorenzo has his eccentricities,

But he's the best, and only the best will do.

Mm.

How are you, Antonio?

I'm fine. It's just you seem not yourself these days.

I'm not sure what it is. I worry.

You can tell me if there's something wrong.

Are we talking about our feelings, Giuseppe?

You're getting soft, Kapellmeister.

I'm perfectly fine.

Mm... I do have something to talk to you about.

The Court has commissioned Mozart again.

The Emperor likes him. Well, he's a risk. Well, I mean...

you've heard it, Antonio.

My God, the boy can write! You can't deny that.

Well, I think his talents may be outweighed by his...

Eccentricities?

The Emperor wants to give him another go.

My hands are tied.

We are opening ourselves up to ridicule.

Joseph wants his opera houses to be a shining light

for all of Europe to...

Giuseppe...

We're going to need a new Kapellmeister.

Oh, look, there's Salieri.

Our new Kapellmeister.

Congratulations. Thank you. Hm!

So, how does it feel?

No different. You have all of Vienna and its musicians in your palm.

You must feel something.

We'll have to be quick today. I have a lot of meetings.

Will you still be able to... tutor me? Well...

A Kapellmeister has to be very selective

over who he keeps in his inner circle.

I am going to have to let a lot of my pupils go.

But you, Katerina...

You, I intend to keep...

...in my palm.

♪

♪ MOZART: Can you imagine?

Choking to death on beef, of all things!

What's wrong with beef? Well, I can think of better things to choke on.

There we are, sir. I love it!

Anton, that sounds a bit flat to me.

Made er... they've made Salieri Kapellmeister, did you hear?

Aloysia mentioned it eight or nine times, yes.

He's actually summoned me to go meet with him.

What does he want? No, Anton, that's sharp now!

Just go through it all again, I think, please.

I think he wants to talk to me about the new opera.

Rosenberg thinks I might get a longer run this time, which is good.

♪

There was a boy at our party a few weeks ago.

Erm, he'd been at Raimund's Mass. Right...

He remembered hearing me sing.

Hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.

Yes, well, it was a good piece, and all that, wasn't it?

I was just thinking about doing it again.

Doing...? Singing.

Oh, as in... professionally, or...?

Well, I was a good enough soprano when I was younger.

There are roles out there in my range.

I mean... Yes.

Yes, it's just singing a Mass is one thing,

but opera's kind of... weeks on end, sometimes months.

Anyway...

See you later.

♪

♪

Mozart! Come in, come in.

Oof! I was very sorry to hear about Bonno.

Oh, yes, yes. Terrible.

It makes one wonder, doesn't it...

...in all this chaos, what God's plan might be.

Yes, oh, now... Your new commission. Erm...

I had to petition hard for you.

Er... there are still some at the Court who needed persuading.

I don't wish to speak ill of the dead,

but I think that Bonno's passing

may have been of benefit to you,

if you take my meaning?

Yes, absolutely, no, yes. Of course.

And er... believe me, I'm grateful for everything.

I... I really am.

Still, what's the theme? General idea of the thing.

No idea, I'm afraid. I'm still working on that.

Really?

Well, we were all thinking

something a little fantastical.

Fantastical?

Gods, angels, kings, knights...

That sort of a thing.

Bit of a spectacle. The Emperor wants crowd-pleasers.

You understand. No, thank you, no.

I think people are bored of that now.

I was imagining, if anything,

Something a little bit more sort of real life.

You know, just sort of relatable.

Mozart...

Audiences don't come to the opera

to see relatable characters. They come to be inspired!

Yes, I think I can do both.

Of course you can.

I have er... given you

The librettist Argenti.

Argenti? Mm-hm.

Are you joking?

Am I writing a birthday card, or a singspiel for three-year-olds

Argenti is a more than competent librettist.

Argenti can barely spell "librettist". He's a moron!

Be that as it may.

Everyone else is... is busy.

Oh, and I almost forgot: the Emperor wants this

Before Christmas.

Before Christmas? Yes, I'm sorry.

I... I hope that won't be a problem?

Not for me, but I suppose I better tell Argenti

to start sharpening his quill.

Hope he doesn't accidentally stab himself

up the arsehole with it Good!

Well, er... let me know the theme

as soon as possible.

Of course. And my best to Constanze.

Thank you so much.

♪

Uh... I want to know what it's like

to make something beautiful.

Mm!

I'm reading the most wonderful book.

It's a play. It's banned, you know.

Banned by whom? My uncle, obviously.

What's it about?

A marriage.

Lust...

...and desire.

And lies and truth.

Why has the Emperor banned this book?

He thinks it's dangerous.

It sounds so silly, doesn't it?

Being afraid of something like a book or a song.

Well...

Words can be dangerous.

Perhaps... I quite like danger.

If I don't get what I want,

I get bored.

And I hate getting bored.

Well, sometimes life is boring, so...

If you can't give me what I want...

...then I don't see there's any point

in you being my tutor any more,

but I don't think you can afford to lose me.

I mean...

...what are you gonna do without me?

Beg on the street?

♪

This is a banned play.

It's banned because there's truth in it.

It's banned because it depicts the servants

as smarter than the masters.

Which they are. Let me say,

as a particularly smart servant myself,

You should find a different story.

OK. Let me play you something.

Something of what? Of this.

I've already started writing it. I can't stop thinking about it.

Well, try harder.

Come on. No -

One aria! One aria, that's the deal.

Come on! To what end?

Because you are gonna be my librettist.

Thank you, but I told you I'm spoken for

and my other half gets very jealous.

Do you want to spend all your life

Writing milquetoast operas for Kapellmeister Salieri? Yes!

Don't you ever just want an easy life?

No! Not at the expense of the music.

Come on, one aria. All right.

What do you mean, you're quitting?

I've promised my services to another composer.

Who?

Mozart. But you're working for me! Yes.

No. Erm, it's just... Yes, no, erm... "It's just" what?

He played me some of it.

Well, I suppose you could work on both at once.

Well, that won't be possible.

Why not?

You're leaving Vienna? Just until we finish writing it,

Yes. "We"? Me and Da Ponte.

Why can't you write it here? Because if anybody finds out

about what we're doing,

they'll shut us down. What? What is this opera?

It's a secret, Stanze. I don't understand.

Look, this is how we have to do it. It can't be ruined.

It's very... You know, it's very delicate,

OK? I can't explain it to you. No, no, you can't.It's very...

Erm, and the... the Princess Elizabeth?

Her lessons? I... I don't know. It's probably good

to have some time apart, frankly.

Time apart? What do you mean, "Time apart"?

What happened?

Oh... no, nothing's happened. Those lessons are important. I worked...

We worked really hard to get you that job!

I can't be thinking about fucking music lessons, OK?

I have to do this. I have to do it!

Yes, you have to leave. Yes!

Well, yes.

Will you be back next month?

I don't know.

Probably not. Why?

It'll be Raimund's anniversary.

But I will lay flowers on your behalf, shall I?

Good afternoon, sir.

Fuck!

Bastard!

Fuck!

Bastard!

Uh...

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, I have some rather unfortunate news.

You'll remember how, at Bonno's insistence,

Mozart was given another opera commission.

Well, I... he's stolen my librettist, you see,

and what's more, he's refusing to reveal

what his opera is even about.

Your Majesty, what... what happened?

One of the dogs bit me.

Tried to stop it mauling a stag.

I was stupid.

Bonno didn't commission Mozart - I did.

Aren't there enough librettists in this damn town to go around? Can't you all share?

Well, of course, of course... of course we can.

There is, however, another matter,

a more sensitive matter

I thought you should be aware of.

There are rumours that Mozart may have been erm...

in... indelicate with the Princess.

Indelicate? I'll have him whipped.

Oh, no. Just his manner, sir.

Nothing that would have crossed that line, I assure you.

But even so... Erm...

Yes, no, we can't have any suggestion of impropriety,

Especially... given her temperament.

We can have him quietly removed from the position.

No need for a scandal.

And I can find somebody more appropriate to tutor her.

Fischer, perhaps? No, you do it.

Me tutor her? Are you sure?

Yes, it's cleaner that way.

Besides, I've enough on my plate as it is right now.

Of course. And, and... and the opera?

You're the Kapellmeister now.

If one of your composers is writing a secret opera,

it is up to you to find out what it is

before whining to me about it!

I'm gonna wash this shit off me.

Amadeus! Amadeus!

Jesus Christ! Are you working?

Not in the carriage, Wolfgang!

This is a sacred space.

What's there to it, anyway? Oi, excuse me!

It's a farce.

Everyone dresses up as everyone else.

So-and-so hides under so-and-so's frock.

They all fuck each other. The end.

It's not that kind of farce.

There's more to it than that. Figaro. Susanna.

They lose each other, then find each other again.

It's complicated. We need to capture the spirit of it.

Erm...

The Marriage Of Figaro.

Yes.

How's the Marriage of Mozart? OK, look...

Pour me another drink!

Go on. Argh!

Come on!

♪

Wolfgang, you've dragged me away from Vienna

To write an illegal opera with you.

I was under the impression

that we'd at least be very drunk - very drunk!

I'm trying to work out the feeling of this section. What is it?

The Count is confused.

He thinks Susanna doesn't love him.

OK, we can have her lie to him.

You know, give him a false hope, a false promise.

Deception.Deception. Betrayal.

Forgiveness?

Ooh! Forgiveness is good.

Yeah, forgiveness is good.

OK, yes, a theme of forgiveness.

Wolfgang, I'm going to invite some girls over now.

Uh-huh.

You could just put a pin in the opera chat for five minutes.

Susanna and the Countess have started working together,

That's why Susanna goes to the Count.

But she needs to convince HIM that she does love him.

That's all part of this amusing plot.

And it's, like, "Oh, finally! Crudel! Perche finora..."

"Cruel girl, why did you make me wait so long?"

You know, erm... I was a priest in Venice.

And how does it end? The opera?

Er, well, they end up happily together.

So not like real life, then?

Oh, no, don't... don't say that.

He's so sweet, he's writing this for his wife.

Anyway, thank you for the company. This has been fun.

Where are you going? I'm going to work!

Fucking hell. You can't leave.

You've just told us all about your opera, you have to play us some.

Well, the instruments are all in my room, so I...

Well, you could play it to me in your room, then.

Amadeus! Amadeus! ♪

Put your bow down and fuck someone!

♪

That's the duet from the Third Act.

I didn't actually think

you were going to play me your opera.

Hmm...

Yes.

It was very nice, though.

And... you're writing it for your wife?

Yes.

You could just... talk to her.

This is how I talk.

Well, it better be good, then.

Yes...

♪

Crudel! Perche Finora duet

♪ Mi sento dal con ten to

♪ Pieno di gioia il cor

♪ Scusatemi se men to

♪ Voi che intendete amor ♪

Stanze!

♪

STANZE!

Symphony No. 80, Menuet - Trio

Hello, Frau Mozart? Oh!

Sorry to startle you.

Franz Suessmayr. We met a while ago.

Yes, yes, you rescued me

from a very boring conversation at a party.

Do you remember? Yes. What can I do for you?

Well, I wondered if I could talk to your husband? Oh, he's not here.

Oh, that's a shame.

I'm here on behalf of the Royal Viennese School of Music, you see.

We've been writing to him about performing for us.

You should come in. Oh, no, I shouldn't.

You'll get washed away.

Come in. Thank you.

So this performance...

For the school.

I mean, it would just need to be a half an hour, just...

just some works on the forte piano,

maybe the viola - whatever he wanted.

Two florins. Two florins?

For an hour, yes. He doesn't do half-hour concerts.

My husband is a royally commissioned opera composer

and erstwhile tutor to the Princess Elizabeth.

If you require a quartet, we'll source the musicians

for a 15% cut of each of their fees.

Yes, of course.

Er, I just need to discuss that with the Head of the School.

And the fee would need to be paid up front, of course.Naturally.

You speak very plainly.

Is that a problem? No.

No, not at all.

I like it.

Er, well...

It was a pleasure seeing you again.

Sorry.

You know, this is probably an imposition,

but er... there's a concert tomorrow, actually.

It's just a small thing, but it's quite fun.

You and your husband would be very welcome.

Well, my husband's away, so...

Yes, of course. You said.

Well... I mean, you could come.

I'll save you a table. It's at Schuman's.

Do you know it? Yes.

I could tell you all about the school and the performance.

A couple of glasses of schnapps, I'm sure you could even raise that fee

by a bit!

Yes, well... maybe.

Maybe. Maybe I'll come.

Aah!

It's perfect. Send a call-out for musicians.

Get them here within the week.

And you think they'll all come? Just tell them that Mozart and Da Ponte

have written the greatest opera

they'll ever have the chance to perform,

and then they'll come. This will be erm...

worth it, won't it? Doing this?

Yes, I think she'll like it.

Erm, I was more talking about

whether its artistic merits

might be enough to keep us out of jail

for disobeying the Emperor. Hmm...

Well, that's part of the fun.

That's part of the fun. That is part of the fun... OK.

OK, all right, thank you!

We'll take it.

♪

'My darling Constanze.

We have stopped in a small town for a few weeks

in the hope of finding an opera...

and all of the pieces are fitting into place

in ways even better than I could have hoped... ' ♪

'..and I feel so strongly that when you listen to this opera,

you will see what's in my heart in new ways,

in ways that I hope you will truly understand.

I miss you

and I love you and I look forward to when we are together...'

Hi.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, for this next performance I need a female voice.

Who can sing here? Who do we know?

Me!

Madam, what about you?

No.

Oh... Come on!

You came.

Yes.

Do you know this one? Mm-hm.

♪ Bald wird sich auch dieses fuegen

♪ Dass wir eins in Zimmer sind

♪ Bald werde ich trotz allem Neide

♪ Freier at men von der Brust

♪

♪ Wenn ich dir mein Herz und Hand

♪ Mit dem Jawort zugewandt

♪ Wenn ich dir mein Herz und Hand

♪ Mit dem Jawort zugewandt ♪

So you'll never be a prima Donna - so what?

A mediocre soprano in a family full of coloraturas.

That wouldn't bother you?

It would bother me a little bit.

Then marry a prodigy and see how that feels!

Your husband is exceptional.

Mm. That's one word for him.

Also useless, chaotic...

And no-one knows what to do with him.

They can't rely on him,

but they can't let him go.

He's just like erm...

A moth dancing around in a lamp.

And he'll either fly away, or he'll burn.

And me with him.

What?

"A moth in a lamp"? Mm-hm.

It's a metaphor. It's a good one. Shut up.

How long is he away for?

I don't know. I got a letter from him

saying they'd found a rehearsal space in Trebic...

At the end of the month.

I think they plan to stay there till November, at least.

Where the hell's Trebic?

No idea. Hmm!

November is a long time to be alone.Hmm.

Yes, it is.

♪

Trebic? They've booked a rehearsal space there

for the end of the month.

Kapellmeister,

I hope you don't mind me questioning you, but I...

Well, I don't want to feel as if I'm engaging in subterfuge.

Oh, Franz.

I care deeply for Mozart.

He has the artist's proclivity for self-destruction.

It's my job as Kapellmeister and... his friend

To make sure he doesn't indulge those instincts.

You can clear your conscience.

By helping me, you are helping him.

And his wife, as well.

Hello, baby.

I miss you.

Do you still listen to me sing?

I hope so.

♪

You must practise, Princess.

But I don't like to.

I'm sure...

you could think of a way to help me remember it all...

...without the work.

Do you like it?

My uncle got it for me.

Ow!

♪

There! I've made a little map for you

Don't play with me.

I never play games I can't win.

When's Wolfgang coming back?

Oh, he's not.

Hi, there. Hi, nice to see you.

Thank you so much. Please, there's your entrance.

Hello, my friend.

Hi, sir, welcome.

Opera singers over there with Lorenzo.

Violin...

Er... viola. Are you still with viola, sir?

OK, so... everyone go to the pillar.

OK...

All right!

Thank you, everybody, for travelling all this way.

You're probably wondering

why the clandestine nature of this whole affair.

Well, Lorenzo and I have a confession to make:

we're not just asking you here

to be co-collaborators on this opera.

We're also asking you to be co-conspirators.

What we're rehearsing today is a version of The Marriage Of Figaro.

Just give us a few hours of your time,

and if at the end of the rehearsal you want to leave,

you can leave.

Well, here we go...

"Voi, Signor, Che Giusto Siete" from The Marriage Of Figaro

♪

Franz?

Constanze.

I was just passing...

Well, no. Actually, I... I never pass by here.

It's miles from my apartment.

Extremely inconvenient.

But I came because...

I wanted to come and tell you...

I'm leaving.

For a bit.

I see.

I didn't want you to think that I just... disappeared.

No.

No, no, that's very kind of you.

I will be back in Vienna on the 10th of December.

Your husband...

He'll be back. Yes.

I th... I thought maybe I would visit the St Michael's Church

on the evening I return.

If someone wanted to find me... alone...

...that's where I'd be.

Why are you telling me that?

Because I think I would go mad if I didn't.

I merely require two minutes of His Majesty's time.

I'm afraid it's just not possible.

Young man, I have a weekly routine with the Emperor

whereby I try to teach him the forte piano

and he resolutely fails to retain

a single piece of my knowledge!

Now, we do this every Thursday at this time.

Now, if he is too busy...

Herr Salieri, it is simply -

I'M THE KAPELLMEISTER OF THE COURT OF EMPEROR JOSEPH II,

and I... Antonio.

Your Majesty, I do apologise for this cacophony, but...

Right, yes, come in.

There's no time for a music lesson today, I'm afraid, Antonio.

The Ottomans have provoked Russia into war

and we are treaty-bound to defend them...

with everything that we have.

Revolution brewing in the Netherlands,

Prussians sabre-rattling at the North.

There could hardly be a more inopportune time for a war.

I have no experience of war.

Mm! I should hope you never will.

What was it that you wanted to speak to me about? I...

Yes, erm...

I have heard word of a banned opera

being readied for performance.

Banned opera? Yes.

The Marriage Of Figaro, Your Majesty. You banned it yourself.

I've no memory of it. What's it about?

Adultery, sin, betrayal,

upper classes being depicted as fools,

the working poor their betters.

Who wrote it? Mozart.

And the librettist? Da Ponte.

I thought he was doing yours.

No. Right, so it'll be in Italian.

Only the aristocrats will understand it.

They're hardly likely to start a revolution

Look, Antonio, I don't recall banning this play.

I also don't recall its title being used as the primary motive

in any peasant uprisings that may be occurring.

Let them put it on. Go with Van Swieten to the opening night.

If the audience are moved to leave the theatre

and march on the palace demanding my head,

then you have my permission to shut it down.

♪

Stanze!

I... I need to leave!

I'll meet you there.

Pardon? I'll meet you there!

All right.

Excuse me.

Five minutes. Five minutes!

Are you all right? Hmm?

Are you all right? Yes.

Constanze isn't here yet, so...

I need...

Listen to me.

I quit the Kapellmeister's opera to do this

because I believe in it.

And I believe in you.

But it does need to go well, you understand?

Yes. Now, what do we say?

We say fuck 'em all. Yes? Fuck 'em all. Yes.

Fuck 'em all. Good boy!

No! Turn around.

Sit down.

The Marriage Of Figaro

♪

♪ Contessa, per do no

♪ Perdono

♪ Perdo-o-o-o-ono

♪ Piu docile io sono

♪ E dico di si

'He had secured greatness.

Written himself immortal.

And I said nothing.'

♪ Ah, tutti contenti

♪ Saremo cosi

♪ Saremo cosi

♪ Saremo

♪ Cosi

Hey!

Where are you going?

♪

Our Emperor rides to war,

and you incite a mob?

You couldn't hear it, could you?

You never could.

Shame, you know.

I was starting to enjoy it.

♪

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