Mozart!

MOZART! A two-act musical by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay
Book and lyrics: Michael Kunze
Music and orchestration: Sylvester Levay
Poetic translation into Lithuanian: Viktorija Streiča, Kristina Siurbytė
Premiere: 6 October 2023
Vereinigte Bühnen Wien
Worldwide Stage Rights: VBW International GmbH

With the musical MOZART!, Austrian creators present a landmark in Austria’s rich history: the musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). He is one of the most famous classical composers of all time, admired for his masterful melodies and notorious for his extravagant lifestyle, which, incidentally, recalls the behaviour of many modern pop stars. After a dazzling and feverishly rapid career, he died young, at just 35.

The central idea of MOZART!’s plot reveals the conflict between its protagonist and the world around him. Although the story unfolds in the 18th century, modern audiences will immediately recognise the problems the protagonist faces and find many connections to their own lives. Mozart confronts an unavoidable fate and the drama of personal growth, making his story moving and timeless.

MOZART! is the brilliance of rock in a Rococo world. The clash of styles and irreconcilable face-off between past and present reflect the ambiguity of the protagonist’s being. As a man, Mozart feels stifled by the traditions of the Salzburg court: as an artist, he is merely a servant to the aristocracy. Yet he longs for creative and personal freedom—to live his own life, dream, and also carouse, play cards and love. Mozart, the former child prodigy, is relentlessly pursued by the brilliant part of his personality, the “porcelain child” Amadeus, who writes music without pause and is seen only by Mozart and the audience.

This moving psychological duality is underscored by composer Sylvester Levay’s musical concept. The score combines vivid modern genres—ballads, ragtime and rock—with delicate original Rococo melodies by Mozart, heard whenever Amadeus, Mozart’s grumpy, childlike alter ego, sits at the piano. Rather than focusing on the prevailing myth of the genius composer, the musical portrays the legendary Mozart as flawed and fragile, and therefore deeply relatable. The musical MOZART! aims to free Mozart’s personality from clichés and superficial adoration, allowing audiences to see and feel him as a real, living, breathing person.

The world premiere of the musical MOZART! took place at Theater an der Wien in Vienna in 1999. The first international premiere was in Hamburg in 2001. Productions have been staged in 9 countries: Austria, Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Japan, South Korea and Sweden, in seven languages: Czech, Flemish, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean and Swedish. More than 2,300 performances have been given, and over 2.5 million people have seen the musical.

The cast includes theatre performers and guest soloists, members of the theatre choir and ballet, and students of the Mikas Petrauskas School of Performing Arts.