Magnificent Mozart

Santa Barbara Symphony was in fine form at the Granada when it presented Amadeus Live, with the talented musicians under Belgian conductor Dirk Brosse, music director of the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra; the symphony chorus; and pianist Natasha Kislenko, a Music Academy of the West faculty member.

The film about Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on Peter Shaffer’s play – which I saw in 1998 at London’s Old Vic with quintessential Poirot David Suchet as Vienna court composer Antonio Salieri and Michael Sheen as Mozart – was made in 1984 under director Milos Forman and won eight Oscars, including Best Picture.

The sold-out matinee, with the orchestra playing the score along with the film, was a true tour de force…