Amadeus is the story of the contentious relationship between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. Mozart’s brilliance as a composer constantly overshadows that of Salieri, and in retaliation Salieri takes every opportunity to discredit the reputation and accomplishments of the renowned composer. At the opening of the play, Salieri is an old man whose luster as a composer has long since tarnished. He is convinced that he used poison to assassinate the noted Mozart. As he relates this information directly to the audience he assures everyone that all will be fully explained.

The action then flashes back to eighteenth century Vienna, Austria, before Salieri and Mozart meet. Salieri knows of the great composer and is fascinated at the prospect of finally meeting him. Their meeting, however, is a great disappointment to Salieri as he sees Mozart in an entirely different light from what he imagined, finding that Mozart’s personality lacks the grace and charm of many of his compositions. For example, Mozart crawls around on the floor on his hands and knees exchanging profane comments with his fiancée.

Salieri has difficulty reconciling the man he saw with that God-given genius that enables him to write such beautiful music. After all, why should God choose to bestow such genius on Mozart rather than on him? During the rest of the play Salieri befriends Mozart and acts as his stalwart friend, all the while sabotaging his reputation and taking every opportunity to disparage his accomplishments.