thumb|right|Jane Seymour (Constanze Mozart) alongside Ian McKellen (Antonio Salieri) in Amadeus, c. 1981. Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer which gives a fictional account of the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, imagining a rivalry between the two at the court of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. First performed in 1979, it was inspired by Alexander Pushkin's short 1830 play Mozart and Salieri, which Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used in 1897 as the libretto for an opera of the same name.
thumb|right|jane seymour (constanze mozart) alongside ian mckellen (antonio salieri) in amadeus c 1981 amadeus is a play by peter shaffer which gives a fictional account of the lives of composers wolfgang amadeus mozart and antonio salieri imagining a rivalry between the two at the court of joseph ii holy roman emperor first performed in 1979 it was inspired by alexander pushkin's short 1830 play mozart and salieri which nikolai rimsky-korsakov used in 1897 as the libretto for an opera of the same name