23 March 2011 / Leave a comment
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo-yEhKrnD4&feature=related[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du-rD2QL1Pc[/youtube]
INT. A SALON IN THE VATICAN - DAY - 1780'S
We see the six-year-old MOZART, also blindfolded, seated in
a gilded chair on a pile of books, playing the harpsichord
for the POPE and a suite of CARDINALS and other churchmen.
Beside the little boy stands LEOPOLD, his father, smirking
with pride.
OLD SALIERI (V.O.)
I admit I was jealous when I heard
the tales they told about him. Not
of the brilliant little prodigy
himself, but of his father, who had
taught him everything.
The piece finishes. Leopold lowers the lid of the harpsichord
and lifts up his little son to stand on it. Mozart removes
the blindfold to show a pale little face with staring eyes.
Both father and son bow. A Papal Chamberlain presents Leopold
with a gold snuff box whilst the cardinals decorously applaud.
Over this scene Old Salieri speaks.
OLD SALIERI (V.O.)
My father did not care for music. He
wanted me only to be a merchant,
like himself. As anonymous as he
was. When I told how I wished I could
be like Mozart, he would say, Why?
Do you want to be a trained monkey?
Would you like me to drag you around
Europe doing tricks like a circus
freak? How could I tell him what
music meant to me?