Act 2, Part 1 Summary

The act begins with Salieri again an old man, addressing the audience as he leads us into "the very last hour of [his] life." Salieri describes what happened on "the dreadful night of the manuscripts" as giving him "a terrible and thrilling purpose" - to block God "in one of his purest manifestations" meaning Mozart. Then he speaks of being glad that in having the opportunity to obstruct God, he also had the opportunity of obstructing a rival, and asks us how many of us would turn down such a chance. As he transforms back into his younger self, he tells us that he wondered how God would respond, and that he got the first part of the answer an hour later. Constanze returns, fully prepared to let Salieri have sex with her in exchange for giving Mozart the job at...