Back in the past audiences are still not appreciating Mozart's work. His resulting desperation is compounded when his father dies. In an effort to earn money, he writes The Magic Flute, "something for ordinary German people." Salieri suggests he include in his composition a focus on the Masons, the fraternal order of which both are members. While he composes The Magic Flute. Constanze leaves with the children and his health deteriorates. He is continually taunted by dreams of a figure in gray, who compels him to write a requiem Mass.

When a member of the emperor's court discovers that Mozart has exposed Masonic rituals in The Magic Flute. he is outraged. As a result, Mozart's reputation and career are ruined. Soon after, when Mozart dies, Salieri admits to feeling a mixture of relief and pity. In the present, Salieri explains,

Slowly I understood the nature of God's...