y:i}Making my defeat more bitter
{y:i}with every passing bar.
And then, do you know what happened?
A miracle!
{y:i}With that yawn...
{y:i}... I saw my defeat
{y:i}turn into a victory.
{y:i}Mozart was lucky
{y:i}the emperor yawned only once.
{y:i}Three yawns...
...and the opera
would fail the same night.
Two yawns, within a week at most.
With one yawn, the composer
could still get...
Nine performances! Nine!
That's all it's had! Withdrawn!
I know, I know.
It's outrageous.
Still, if the public
doesn't like one's work...
...one has to accept
the fact gracefully.
But what is it that they don't like?
I can speak for the emperor.
You make too many demands
on the royal ear.
The poor man can't concentrate for
more than an hour. You gave him four.
What did you think of it yourself?
Did you like it at all?
I thought it was marvelous.
Of course.
It's the best opera yet written.
I know it!
Why didn't they come?
I think you overestimate
our dear Viennese, friend.
You didn't give them a bang
at the end of songs...
...to let them know when to clap.
I know, I know.
Maybe you should give me
some lessons in that.
I wouldn't presume.
Nevertheless,
at the risk of imposing...
...I'd like you to see my new piece.
It would be an honor for me.
No, the honor would be all mine.
I believe...
I believe...
...it is the best opera
yet written, my friends.
Salieri!
You are the brightest star
in the musical firmament.
You do honor to Vienna and to me.
"Herr Mozart"!
- It was good of you to come.
- How could I not?
Bravo, maestro.
Did my work please you?
I never knew that music
like that was possible.
- You flatter me.
- No.
One hears such sounds...
...and what can one say but: Salieri!
Everybody's here and we've got guests.
Bravo! Well, I've got some more.
You remember my good
friend Schikaneder. Come in.
Don't be shy.
- This is a very nice girl, and this...
- Wolfie?
Yes, my love?
- These gentlemen are from Salzburg.
- Salzburg?
We were just talking about Salzburg.
Your father is dead.
So rose the dreadful ghost...
...from his next and blackest opera.
{y:i}There on the stage,
{y:i}stood the figure of a dead commander.
I knew...
...only I understood...
...that the horrifying apparition
was Leopold...
...raised from the dead!
Wolfgang had actually
summoned up his own father...
...to accuse his son
before all the world!
It was...
...terrifying and wonderful to watch.
And now...
...the madness began in me.
The madness of a man
splitting in half.
Through my influence, I saw to it...
... "Don Giovanni" was played
only five times in Vienna.
But, in secret,
I went to every one of those five.
{y:i}Worshiping sound
{y:i}I alone seemed to hear.
{y:i}And as I stood there,
{y:i}understanding how...
...that bitter old man was
still possessing his poor son...
{y:i}... even from beyond the grave...
{y:i}... I began to see a way...
{y:i}... a terrible way...
...I could finally triumph...
...over God.
"Herr Mozart"?
I have come to commission
work from you.
- What work?
- A Mass for the dead.
What dead?
Who is dead?
A man who deserved a Requiem Mass
and never got one.
- Who are you?
- I am only a messenger.
Do you accept?
You will be well paid.
Do you accept?
Work fast.
And be sure tell no one what you do.
You will see me again soon.
Wolfie?
My plan was so simple...
...that it terrified me.
First, I must get the death Mass,
and then...
...I must achieve his death.
What?
His funeral!
Imagine it!
The cathedral,
all Vienna sitting there.
His coffin.
Mozart's little coffin in the middle.
And then...
...in that silence...
...music.
A divine music...
...bursts out over them all.
A great Mass of death.
Requiem Mass for Wolfgang Mozart.
Composed by his devoted friend...
...Antonio Salieri.
What sublimity!
What depth!
What passion in the music!
Salieri has been touched
by God at last...
...and God forced to listen!
Powerless