In his room sits composer Salieri. He complains about the injustice of fate. Remembering his childhood, he says that he was born with love for high art, that, as a child, he cried involuntarily and sweet tears at the sounds of the church organ. Early rejecting children’s games and fun, he selflessly devoted himself to studying music. Despising all that was alien to him, he overcame the difficulties of the first steps and early adversities. He mastered the musician’s craft perfectly, “to the fingers / betrayed obedient, dry fluency / And loyalty to the ear.” Dead sound, he broke the music, “believed algebra harmony.” Only then did he decide to create, indulge in a creative dream, without thinking of glory. Often, he destroyed the fruits of many days of labor, born in tears of inspiration, finding them imperfect. But also comprehending music, he left all his knowledge, when the great Gluck discovered new secrets of art. And finally, when he reached a
high degree in boundless art, the glory smiled at him, he found in the hearts of people a response to his consonances. And Salieri peacefully enjoyed his glory, not envying anyone and not knowing this feeling at all. On the contrary, he enjoyed “the labors and successes of friends.” Salieri believes that no one had the right to call him “envious despicable”. Now Salieri’s soul is depressed by the consciousness that he envies, painfully, deeply, Mozart. But the grief of the envy of the injustice of fate, which gives the sacred gift not to the ascetic as a reward for long and painstaking works, but the jealousy of grief, is stronger than the envy of the consciousness that this gift is not given as a reward for selfless love of art, but “illuminates the head of a madman” . This Salieri can not understand. In despair, he pronounces Mozart’s name, and at that moment Mozart himself appears, to whom it seems that Salieri pronounced his name because he noticed his approach, and he wanted to appear suddenly, that Salieri “treat him with an unexpected joke.” Going to Salieri,
Mozart heard in the tavern the sounds of a violin and saw a blind violinist playing a famous melody, it seemed to Mozart amusing. He brought this violinist with him and asks him to play something from Mozart. Mercilessly falsifying, the violinist plays an aria from “Don Juan”. Mozart laughs cheerfully, but Salieri is serious and even rebukes Mozart. He does not understand how Mozart can laugh at what seems to him a mockery of high art. Salieri drives the old man away, and Mozart gives him money and asks him to drink to Mozart’s health. and at that moment Mozart himself appears, to whom it seems that Salieri pronounced his name because he noticed his approach, and he wanted to appear suddenly, that Salieri “treat him with an unexpected joke.” Going to Salieri, Mozart heard in the tavern the sounds of a violin and saw a blind violinist playing a famous melody, it seemed to Mozart amusing. He brought this violinist with him and asks him to play something from Mozart. Mercilessly falsifying, the violinist plays an aria from “Don Juan”. Mozart laughs cheerfully, but Salieri is serious and even rebukes Mozart. He does not understand how Mozart can laugh at what seems to him a mockery of high art. Salieri drives the old man away, and Mozart gives him money and asks him to drink to Mozart’s health. and at that moment Mozart himself appears, to whom it seems that Salieri pronounced his name because he noticed his approach, and he wanted to appear suddenly, that Salieri “treat him with an unexpected joke.” Going to Salieri, Mozart heard in the tavern the sounds of a violin and saw a blind violinist playing a famous melody, it seemed to Mozart amusing. He brought this violinist with him and asks him to play something from Mozart. Mercilessly falsifying, the violinist plays an aria from “Don Juan”. Mozart laughs cheerfully, but Salieri is serious and even rebukes Mozart. He does not understand how Mozart can laugh at what seems to him a mockery of high art. Salieri drives the old man away, and Mozart gives him money and asks him to drink to Mozart’s health. and he wanted to appear suddenly, that Salieri “treat him with an unexpected joke.” Going to Salieri, Mozart heard in the tavern the sounds of a violin and saw a blind violinist playing a famous melody, it seemed to Mozart amusing. He brought this violinist with him and asks him to play something from Mozart. Mercilessly falsifying, the violinist plays an aria from “Don Juan”. Mozart laughs cheerfully, but Salieri is serious and even rebukes Mozart. He does not understand how Mozart can laugh at what seems to him a mockery of high art. Salieri drives the old man away, and Mozart gives him money and asks him to drink to Mozart’s health. and he wanted to appear suddenly, that Salieri “treat him with an unexpected joke.” Going to Salieri, Mozart heard in the tavern the sounds of a violin and saw a blind violinist playing a famous melody, it seemed to Mozart amusing. He brought this violinist with him and asks him to play something from Mozart. Mercilessly falsifying, the violinist plays an aria from “Don Juan”. Mozart laughs cheerfully, but Salieri is serious and even rebukes Mozart. He does not understand how Mozart can laugh at what seems to him a mockery of high art. Salieri drives the old man away, and Mozart gives him money and asks him to drink to Mozart’s health. He brought this violinist with him and asks him to play something from Mozart. Mercilessly falsifying, the violinist plays an aria from “Don Juan”. Mozart laughs cheerfully, but Salieri is serious and even rebukes Mozart. He does not understand how Mozart can laugh at what seems to him a mockery of high art. Salieri drives the old man away, and Mozart gives him money and asks him to drink to Mozart’s health. He brought this violinist with him and asks him to play something from Mozart. Mercilessly falsifying, the violinist plays an aria from “Don Juan”. Mozart laughs cheerfully, but Salieri is serious and even rebukes Mozart. He does not understand how Mozart can laugh at what seems to him a mockery of high art. Salieri drives the old man away, and Mozart gives him money and asks him to drink to Mozart’s health.
Mozart seems that Salieri is now in a bad mood, and is going to come to him another time, but Salieri asks Mozart what he brought him. Mozart dissuades, considering his new composition as a trifle. He sketched it at night during insomnia, and it’s not worth it to trouble Salieri when it’s in a bad mood. But Salieri asks Mozart to play this thing. Mozart tries to retell what he experienced when he composed and played. Salieri, in perplexity, how could Mozart, going to him with this, stop at a pub and listen to a street musician. He says that Mozart is unworthy of himself, that his work is unusual in depth, courage and harmony. He calls Mozart a god who does not know about his divinity. Embarrassed Mozart joked that his deity was hungry. Salieri offers Mozart to dine together at the tavern “
Left alone, Salieri says that he can not resist the fate that chose him as his weapon. He believes that he is called upon to stop Mozart, who by his behavior does not raise art, that it will fall again as soon as it disappears. Salieri believes that living Mozart is a threat to art. Mozart in the eyes of Salieri is like a heavenly cherub who has flown into the world of the whole world in order to excite wingless desires in people, children of dust, and therefore it will be more reasonable if Mozart flies away again, and the sooner, the better. Salieri takes out the poison, bequeathed to him by his lover, Izora, the poison that he kept for eighteen years and never resorted to his help, although more than once life seemed to him unbearable. He never used it to punish the enemy, always taking the upper hand over the temptation. Now, says Salieri, it’s time to use the poison,
In a separate room of the inn, where there is a piano, Salieri and Mozart are sitting. Salieri seems that Mozart is overcast, that he is somewhat upset. Mozart admits that he is troubled by Requiem, which he composes for three weeks by the order of some mysterious stranger. Mozart is haunted by the thought of this man who was in black, it seems to him that he follows him everywhere and even now sits in this room.
Salieri tries to reassure Mozart, saying that all this is childish fears. He recalls his friend Beaumarchais, who advised him to get rid of black thoughts with a bottle of champagne or reading “The Marriage of Figaro.” Mozart, knowing that Beaumarchais was a friend of Salieri, asked whether it was true that he had poisoned someone. Salieri responds that Beaumarchais was too ridiculous “for such a craft”, and Mozart, objecting to him, says that Beaumarchais was a genius, like them with Salieri, “but genius and villainy are two incompatible veshes.” Mozart is convinced that Salieri shares his thoughts. And at that moment, Salieri throws poison into Mozart’s glass. Mozart raises a toast to the sons of harmony and for the union, their connecting. Salieri makes an attempt to stop Mozart, but later, he already drank wine. Now Mozart is going to play for Salieri his Requiem. Listening to music, Salieri cries, but these are not tears of remorse, these are tears from the consciousness of a fulfilled duty. Mozart feels unwell and leaves the inn. Salieri, left alone, reflects on Mozart’s words about the incompatibility of genius and villainy; as an argument in his favor, he recollects the legend that Bonarotti brought a person’s life as a sacrifice to art. But suddenly he is pierced by the thought that this is just an invention of a “dumb, meaningless crowd”.
