Starz Releases 5-Episode 'Amadeus' Mini-Series Starring Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 2
Starz Releases 5-Episode 'Amadeus' Mini-Series Starring Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 2
Starz has rolled out a five-episode TV adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus,” bringing the Mozart-Salieri rivalry back to the screen in serialized form.
Will Sharpe plays Mozart and Paul Bettany plays Salieri in a version adapted by Joe Barton that largely reworks Shaffer’s stage story rather than pursuing historical accuracy.
The series adds narrative twists, including an ending centered on Constanze, Mozart’s wife, and frames the material with bright colors, anachronisms and limited focus on musical detail.
Its release also revives interest in composer biopics more broadly, as “Amadeus” joins a long line of screen portrayals that treat composers’ lives with varying degrees of fantasy and invention.