Based on the information you have been given; suggest an appropriate costume for Salieri at the start of the play? [2]
At the start of the play Salieri is in his older character, but has a quick costume change on stage. Therefore he will be in his younger version costume but with a gray shawl draped over his whole body. This will effectively hide his costume and be easy to change out of, it also ages him as many elderly use shawls to keep warm and it is grey to symbolize the dulling of the mind and body (ageing)
Throughout the play there is often a sense of guilt and fear. Suggest four ways in which you would show this in set design for the opening of act one. [4]
During the opening of act one the setting will have muslin curtains spread across the stage on which the Silhouettes will be lit on. The muslin is a shroud over the truth; this shroud creates a fear of the unknown. There is a prominent large black cross hanging from the ceiling; it is a symbol for the religious aspects of the play and the guilt to be felt by Salieri as he attempts to do what he swore he would never do in the first place. There will be a projection of a graveyard onto a screen placed on the side. This symbolizes the death that is being discussed, the murder and reinforces the message going to the audience and the sense of fear. Also a dim light will be cast upon the set to help the minimalistic set. The dim light means things cannot be seen clearly everything will be in the shadows creating fear.
As an actor suggest two main aspects of Mozart’s character that you would seek to bring out in his first extended speech as he meets Emperor Joseph for the first time. [4]
Firstly I would like to bring out his childish, immature personality. When he discusses the topic of the opera he was commissioned for he is unable to discuss the topic with the maturity of an adult. This is a very important aspect as it is what fires up Salieri so much. That God has chosen his vessel for music to be an immature “child”, not a responsible adult. To contrast this I also wanted to bring out that he is very talented and not just “bluffing”. Such as when he says that he has already finished the first act in less than 2 weeks, this proves he has talent which infuriates Salieri to the extent of wanting to murder him
Consider the first appearance of Constanze as she is seen in the Waldstädten library, as a director, writer brief notes for an actor about how you would want is role to be played. [4]
As this is the first impression of Constanze it is an important one. I want her childishness and sense of fun and flirtatiousness to be portrayed predominantly throughout the scene to show how well matched she is with Mozart. Also her serious, respectful side must be portrayed so that the audience understands that someone will have some sense of responsibility. This is seen when Constanze breaks the fun by saying Mozart’s father will never consent to marriage. She understands the actions and their consequences contrasting Mozart greatly here.
What kind of lighting do you think would be most appropriate to accompany the final part of Act one after the confession by Salieri. [4]
Starting at line 1120 the