Act 1, Part 2 Summary

Salieri, now with the clothes and energy of a much younger man, tells us we're now in Vienna in 1781, and introduces several other characters. Starting with the women in his life, he introduces his calm and supportive wife Teresa (who is in the play as a non-speaking presence) and his student Katherina (also non-speaking). Salieri then speaks of being tempted by Katherina's sensuality, but tells us his vow to God kept him from breaking his vows of fidelity to his wife. The man also tells us that at the time, his prime ambition was to become "First Royal Kappellmeister," or music master, but the Kappellmeister of the Time (Kapellmeister Bonno) was seventy years old and "apparently immortal." Salieri speaks at length about how composers treated their work and their music at the time, saying that the idea was to immortalize and...