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Act 1, Part 1

• Salieri, as an old man, addresses the audience, which he refers to as 'ghosts of the future.'

• He declares he must confess to the sin of gluttony.

• Salieri describes his ecstatic love of music and his desire to praise God through this art.

• He describes his ardent wish for fame through music.

• He tells the audience that all he came to stand for was mediocrity.

Act 1, Part 2

• The scene changes to Vienna, 1781, when Salieri and Mozart were young.

• Salieri tells us that at this time he was virtuous and his ambition was to become Kappellmeister in the Viennese court.

• The Venticelli rush in and tell Salieri that the twenty-five-year-old Mozart is in Vienna and intends to stay there.

• Van Swieten invites Salieri to join the Masonic Lodge.

• The Venticelli tell Salieri that Mozart is engaged to one Weber sister, having dumped another.

• Salieri tells the...

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