Q&A: Michael Emerson discusses acting as jealous composer in play ‘Amadeus’

The name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is familiar to many. That of Antonio Salieri is not always as easily recognizable.

But many people can identify the actor playing Salieri in L.A. Theatre Works’ production of “Amadeus,” if not the 18th century composer himself.

Michael Emerson, known for playing Ben Linus in “Lost,” will portray Salieri at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater this weekend. Written by Peter Shaffer, “Amadeus” is a fictional play about Salieri, a jealous composer frustrated by the juxtaposition of Mozart’s talent and unprofessional behavior.

The Daily Bruin’s Samantha Suman spoke with Emerson about his preparation for “Amadeus,” his connection with Salieri and the problems his character faces.

Daily Bruin: What drew you to “Amadeus?”

Michael Emerson: “Amadeus” is a wonderful play. I’ve been aware of it all my life, and I’ve been in it before. A little more than 20 years ago, I played the character of Mozart in a really good production of it at (the Arkansas Repertory Theatre) in Little Rock. I loved the play ever since then, and I’ve always thought that Salieri was one of the mightiest roles ever written for the stage. It is with both excitement and terror that I approach playing that role now.

DB: Considering that Salieri is a historical figure, how have you prepared for this role?

ME: I never think it is that important to study a lot about the real historical character because it generally turns out, I feel, that everything you need to play the part is in the play script itself. Particularly with Salieri – who’s not a terribly significant musical figure and not so very much known about historically, and yet he is such a huge character in this play – I would do well to think about what (Shaffer) has written, and not spend too much time looking into the real man. (Shaffer), like any good play producer, took a tremendous number of liberties. This is a Salieri of the imagination.

DB: How has listening to Salieri’s music helped you connect with him?

ME: Listening to his music just makes you a little sad for him. I guess it goes a little way to understanding when he gets most desperate and most self-loathing in the play – you understand why (when listening to his music). The genius of Shaffer’s script is that he takes a man who was a really mediocre artist, but he gives him a kind of terrible Greek self-knowledge. That’s where the goods are in this play. Salieri is not just a poor musician; he is a poor musician who understands what great musicianship is more than any other man living. That’s the sort of inverted curse of the bargain he makes with God when he’s a little boy.

DB: What have you learned about yourself while playing Salieri?

ME: It makes you think a bit about the issues of professional jealousy and about the necessity of accepting our own limits as artists or probably as human beings, too. Because that is Salieri’s problem: that he cannot be content to understand music perfectly. His jealousy spoils that for him.