Amadeus

“I am thirty-one. Already a prolific composer to the Hapsburg Court. I own a respectable house and a respectable wife—Teresa.” 

When Salieri introduces himself to the audience, he talks about his piety and respectability. He refers to Teresa, his wife, as something he owns. His faithfulness to her is part of a carefully-crafted persona, and the fact that she is a mute character shows that she (as well as Katherina Cavalieri) are largely props. Teresa represents his commitment to religion and Katherina represents his rejection of God. 

“Yes, we were servants. But we were learned servants! And we used our learning to celebrate men’s average lives!” 

Salieri talks about composing as having a larger purpose. In opera, he claims, they glorify the common man. Simultaneously, he refers to himself and his fellow artists as servants, humble and carrying out the work of the divine. This is ironic, since Salieri’s thirst for fame will lead him to destroy Mozart who desired to write operas about regular people. 

“We took unremarkable men: usual bankers, run-of-the-mill priests, ordinary soldiers and statesmen and wives—and sacramentalized their mediocrity.”

What Salieri describes here when discussing opera parallels is how both the play and narratives of history treat these historical figures. The play in particular infuses these people with an elaborate drama, turning Mozart into a martyr for his art rather than an unfortunate person who was underappreciated in his lifetime and died in poverty.