The world-renowned Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus will return to the Teatru Manoel stage in October, after having been performed there under the same company 16 years ago.
Masquerade Theatre Company is producing Shaffer's masterpiece for a total of six performances between 19-21 and 26-28 October and will feature some of Malta's finest performers as the play leads with Thomas Camilleri as Mozart and Manual Cauchi as Salieri. The show also marks the company's 20th anniversary - a significant milestone for theatre in Malta.
Amadeus follows the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri in a fictionalised history of their intense competition in 18th century Vienna and the lengths to which Salieri may have gone to satisfy his bitter envy in the face of Mozart's musical genius. As producer Anthony Bezzina explains: "Amadeus has international appeal and a historic curiosity. Shaffer's hypothesis that a simple Court composer may have been responsible for Mozart's death makes for an interesting twist and gives the play the element of a whodunit, while unfolding some of Mozart's perhaps more negative attributes."
Since the themes explored in Amadeus remain relevant to modern audiences today, and with Valletta celebrating its year as European Capital of Culture, Masquerade felt the time was right to revisit this classic play, 16 years after first staging it at Teatru Manoel. "I am thrilled to be staging Amadeus again, as I love this play. Plus Teatru Manoel, with its baroque style, provides the ideal backdrop for such a visual, period piece," he continues. "We have also contracted Italian set designer Romualdo Moretti who has come up with an amazing set, which will accompany costumes designed by Simona Mamo and wigs and period hairstyles by Michael & Guy."
While remaining faithful to the original script, the 2018 production of Amadeus will offer a new take compared to the 2002 performances, with a different set, different cast and a different director in Stephen Oliver.
"I am so happy Anthony asked me to direct this amazing play," says Oliver. "I always believe a director brings their own touch to a production, something that is unique to their directing style. As a company, we are all approaching the 2018 piece with new eyes, new ideas and hopefully my own style, which we hope will bring equal success and applause."
The 2018 production also marks the comeback of veteran actor Manuel Cauchi after an absence of four years from local theatre, who joins Thomas Camilleri in the lead roles alongside a talented supporting cast that brings experience and raw talent together in an unforgettable interpretation of this classic play.
'Amadeus' by Peter Shaffer is a Masquerade Theatre Company production and it will have six performances at Teatru Manoel, Valletta between 19-21 & 26-28 October. Tickets will be available via www.teatrumanoel.com.mt and early bird offers are available until the end of this month.