Review: Amadeus

Rishi Sharma and Tom Shortland‘s production of Peter Shaffer’s ‘Amadeus’ is a vivid and excellent retelling of the story of Antonio Salieri’s rivalry with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Preoccupied with notions of jealousy, fame and religious devotion, it is no exaggeration to say that watching the play comes close to being a divine experience, due to a combination of emotive musical performances and incredibly moving acting.

The main thought that I was left with after watching ‘Amadeus’ was my incredulity regarding the fact that what I had just watched was student theatre; it was an impressive production in many regards, ranging from the sheer volume of music that was performed by the hard-working orchestra to the number of innovations that make this production so unique.

Image credit: Caitlin Van Bommel

Of course, a large part of this was down to the perfect casting: Michael Olatunji as the jaded and conspiring, yet brilliant Antonio Salieri conveyed an absolute masterpiece of a performance. Balancing dry, sarcastic wit with pure and utter despair, while maintaining a profoundly intimate dialogue with his address to the audience, resulted in a convincing portrayal that evoked strong emotional reactions from the audience. A stellar performance; although Salieri was unsuccessful in his plight to act as a conduit for the voice of God, Olatunji definitely succeeded in resurrecting Salieri on the ADC stage.

His counterpart Haran Loganathan as Mozart offered an equally impressive performance, particularly in the range he offered. It was incredible to watch his child-like, flaunting and pretentious character deteriorate into the broken husk of the genius he once embodied. His spontaneous bursts of playing the piano, further highlighting his genius, also worked incredibly well. The scene in which he comes to his demise was also particularly outstanding, with his emotive lamentations being supported by the brilliant Thea Melton as his wife Constanze, who also offers a strong and sympathy-evoking performance throughout.

Image credit: Caitlin Van Bommel

The supporting cast also deserves high praise for their adding to the atmosphere of courtly drama. This goes in particular for the Venticelli, played by Isabelle Duffy-Cross and Tirza Sey whose charming interludes added a light joy of gossip to the drama. Similarly, the serious stoicism of the court members was a perfect humourous juxtaposition to this, thanks to Owen Igiehon, Ebenezer Boakye and Perrin Ford.

An immersive atmosphere was also created by the interesting contrast between the decadence of the costumes and the simple and unassuming set, which was a particular triumph, in that its simplicity made way for moments of spectacle without drawing attention away from the action. This was achieved via transparent curtains and projections that at times would separate the actors from the orchestra. This led to moments where it was almost as if the cast were superimposed onto the backdrop of live music – an extraordinary effect indeed.

Image credit: Caitlin Van Bommel

And of course, we must talk about the entire live orchestra on stage. In terms of how it interacted with the acting, I think it worked very well in adding to the immersion, especially for moments of performance where Mozart got to ‘conduct’ alongside Musical Director William Want. Interactive moments with the cast also added a bit of flair that was much appreciated.

The quality of performance was generally good and warmed up as the orchestra grew in confidence as the play went on. Overall the pieces added greatly to the atmosphere and were effective in scenes such as when the cast sat down to ‘watch’ a performance.

The use of the orchestra also as a choir was incredibly innovative and a great surprise, which I almost regret adding as a partial spoiler in this review, as nothing could prepare me for the great emotional catharsis of the Lacrimosa accompanying Mozart’s death.

As well as this, the brilliance of Joseph Folley and Imogen Rowe in their excellent vocal performances, especially the latter’s completely unexpected and stunning Queen of the Night Aria, truly made it feel like you were attending a real concert. At times the balance between cast and orchestra made it hard to hear the dialogue, but despite this, the beautiful playing was absolutely worth all the logistical planning and hours of rehearsal – a real sight to behold.

Image credit: Caitlin Van Bommel

‘Amadeus’ is an absolute must-see of Cambridge theatre this term and truly an unforgettable experience. Though perhaps not in the case of Salieri, the combined efforts of everyone involved in this production proved that ambitious visions do lead to success.

4/5

Amadeus is showing on the 25^th – 29^th of October at 7:45 pm at the ADC Theatre. Book your tickets here.

Feature image credit: Caitlin Van Bommel

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