Reply to Ange-8

Rating: Null/10 (27 May 2004)

Several comments in reply:
1) "Why opera in English?" - Actually, it's pretty clever how they handle this... In the movie the Italian operas (Figaro, Don Giovanni and Salieri's Axur) are sung in Italian, but only the German operas (Abduction, Magic Flute and the parody-vaudeville) are in English. My supposition is that we assume that everyone in the movie is speaking German, but we hear it as English, except when they speak in Italian or some other language. It's like having a selective Babel-Fish (read Douglas Adams if that one is lost on you).
2) "Why would they refer to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as Wolfie?" Believe it, because they did. Constanza refers to Mozart numerous times in her letters as "Wolferl" which could translate to English as "Wolfie"... also believe me that she (and others) had names for him that would cause Buddy Hackett to blush. The letters of the Mozart family (Wolferl, his sister "Nannerl", and papa and mama Mozart) are full of scatalogical references and sexual humor that still seems pretty crude in our day and age.
3) Salieri. Yes, he is quite maligned. I think everyone knows that. He was one of the most famous composers in Europe and gave lessons in vocal composition to Beethoven, among others. He even commanded one of the artillery batteries in the premiere of Beethoven's "Wellington's Victory". However, some of Beethoven's conversion books survive where Beethoven's nephew Karl writes that Salieri has gone mad and claims that he murdered Mozart. It's not true, of course, but could very well have been the product of an enfeebled mind.