A new television dramatisation of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been met with a critical reception that could be described as less than harmonious. The six-part Sky Atlantic series 'Amadeus', which stars Will Sharpe as the titular composer and Paul Bettany as his rival Antonio Salieri, has been branded a 'pale, petty version' of the award-winning 1984 film it draws from.
A High Bar Not Cleared
The review positions the challenge starkly: any new project tackling the life of a defining genius, using Peter Shaffer's revered play and Milos Forman's near-perfect film as source material, must bring something substantively new and illuminating to succeed. The critic argues that co-creators Joe Barton and Julian Farino have failed this test. Instead of enrichment, they have delivered a drama where the original's profound themes—the corrupting power of envy, the mystery of divine talent—are reduced and surrounded by what is described as flat, airless, and banal additional scenes.
Lowered Stakes and Thin Performances
The series makes a crucial narrative shift that immediately lowers the dramatic stakes. The aged Salieri (Bettany) confesses not to a priest, as in the film and play, but to Mozart's widow, Constanze—a move from spiritual peril to mere conscience-clearing. The story proper begins in 1781, ten years before Mozart's death, with the composer's arrival in Vienna.
While Paul Bettany's Salieri is seen as doing commendable work with limited material, Will Sharpe's portrayal of Mozart is criticised as a 'thin, half-hearted thing'. The review suggests Sharpe's interpretation resembles a 'milquetoast with a drink problem', which inadvertently undermines Salieri's seething hatred and his subsequent crisis of faith, making them seem like an overreaction.
Emblematic Crassness and a Hope for the Future
A key moment highlighting the series' perceived shortcomings is the scene where Constanze brings Salieri Mozart's manuscripts. The film's iconic speech about the perfection of the score—'Displace one note and there would be diminishment'—is replaced by a simple, wordless camera pan from Mozart's flawless pages to Salieri's own scribbled-out work. This, the review states, is emblematic of the entire endeavour: striving to make the ineffable merely effable.
The final verdict is a hope that 2026 will be a year for original dramas, not further reworkings—and certainly not of 'Amadeus'. The series is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and Now in the UK, and on Binge in Australia.
