Behind the Scenes With New Musical ‘Saving Mozart’
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy, starting to compose at the tender age of five and producing over 800 works before his untimely death aged just 36.
As well as being acknowledged as one of the greatest composers in Western music history, Mozart has been represented in literature, on stage and screen and even in a video game, not forgetting Austrian pop singer Falco’s seminal work, “Rock Me Amadeus”!
Now, a new take on his life is due to open this summer at London’s The Other Palace. Saving Mozart is an exciting new musical that focuses on the extraordinary women in his life. With a star-studded cast that includes Amie Atkinson (older sister Nannerl, herself a musical wunderkind), Jack Chambers (Mozart), Erin Caldwell (his wife Constanze) and Jordan Luke Gage (musical rival Salieri) and Gloria Ontiri (mother Anna Maria), it promises to bring us “the Mozart you’ve never met”, making him raw, human and electric.
Before Saving Mozart opens, I was invited to watch a preview of this bold new take on a prolific talent. Fittingly for a show about a prodigious child, the rehearsal rooms are part of a Primary School so the irony was not lost on me as I passed classrooms with their miniature chairs and desks to watch some absolute giants of musical theatre perform songs from the show.
On the latest “hottest day of the year so far”, director Markus Olzinger introduced the company of Saving Mozart and the show’s writer Charli Eglington. Charli spoke a little about the research she’s done in order to put the focus on more than just Mozart – no family letter left unread – to create this show that is about more than just one man, going beyond the music to tell the story of a family. Although the show’s music is rooted in pop and hip hop, she has incorporated Mozart’s work into every number, it’s a clear motif running throughout the show.
On to the performances and I’m immediately impressed by the precision of the choreography from Taylor Walker as the ensemble sets up the story. Working with makeshift props and furniture in this rehearsal setting, it’s still easy to get a sense of what the finished production will look like as the cast members move around the stage, jumping on and off tables and spinning around at a piano that’s never far from the action.
The singing gives us an exciting taste of what’s to come – with a stunning ballad from Gloria Ontiri contrasting with the vocal posturing of Jordan Luke Gage’s Salieri and Amie Atkinson’s formidable Nannerl. There’s another change of mood when Jack Chambers and Erin Caldwell sing a tender duet as they celebrate the birth of a child.
After the performances, I had a quick chat with Salieri actor, Jordan Luke Gage, who revealed he’s thoroughly enjoying his “villain era” as well as giving some insights into the show and his role within it. Jordan said:
“I think I’ve always been in my villain era if you look at the roles that I’ve played in the last few years: JD in Heathers is the villain, Clyde you can kind of say is the villain and then Cal in TItanique, so maybe I’ve always been in my villain era. Romeo had his flaws he wa n’t so bad. But I enjoy them, they’re more fun!”
And on Salieri:
“Like everybody, he’s misunderstood at times. He is competitive and passionate about what he does and that can be his downfall. I think ultimately he is just chasing his dreams as well as Mozart and he’s protecting himself. I think the show does explore themes of redemption and there’s definitely an arc between the two characters and we hopefully see some resolve between them (without giving too much away). He’s like every other human being but maybe the angst is amped up a bit more than normal people!
When Mozart arrives, he’s the hottest new thing in town, everyone wants to come and watch Mozart perform. Salieri is the most successful musician at the time and is completely threatened, not used to somebody coming along and being better than him. It’s very much exploring the relationship between them both and how they navigate this world around each other”.
Finishing off, Jordan explained why people should book a ticket:
“The show is great because it’s an amazing blend of pop and hip hop with classical undertones. What’s really amazing is that there are so many extracts from Mozart’s music within the songs, I think Charli’s a genius to be able to weave them both together. Come for the music but also come to explore this story of what happened 350 years ago that most people don’t know about. It’s an education and an entertainment!”
You heard it – education and entertainment. Also, a phenomenal cast giving a fresh new take on an extraordinary man and the equally extraordinary people around him!
Saving Mozart runs at The Other Palace from 28th July until 30th August. Find out more and book tickets here.
