In Saturday’s (3/14) Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.), Rodger Mullen previews the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming weekend performances of Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, with Cape Fear Regional Theatre. “Tom Quaintance, the theater’s artistic director, said he has wanted to stage Amadeus with the symphony since the symphony and the theater collaborated on A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2013. In addition to a six-member cast, the production includes about 50 musicians plus a chorus of around 45. ‘The combination of the script and having the music of the symphony is tremendously exciting,’ Quaintance said. He said the staging is relatively simple to keep the focus on the story and the music. Symphony conductor Fouad Fakhouri said the rivalry between Salieri and Mozart is largely an invention of the playwright [though not] the magnitude of Mozart’s talent…. ‘The guy could create an entire piece in his mind without making a note on paper,’ says Fakhouri…. Quaintance said he has adapted the script somewhat to allow for more music. With an entire symphony at his disposal, he wanted to make sure it had plenty of opportunity to shine. ‘We don’t want the music to be incidental,’ Quaintance said. ‘It’s essential to the script.’ ”
Posted March 19, 2015
