Separating the human from the genius

Today (Friday) marks the anniversary when the great Salzburg-born musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91)finally had a long rest. Centuries later, audiences in Shanghai still get enchanted by his legendary stories.

The Shanghai Culture Square recently unveiled its big New Year performing season with a new production of the German musical Mozart!. After its global premiere at the theater on Nov 27, the venue will present 18 shows by Dec 14 before the concert production sets to tour Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Beijing, and Suzhou in Jiangsu province, with a total of 34 performances.

Composed by Sylvester Levay, with lyrics by Michael Kunze, the musical recounts the life story of Mozart, from being a child prodigy and struggling with his domineering father, to his financial difficulties and social constraints.

Mozart! is the second musical jointly created by Levay and Kunze. Speaking in Shanghai on Nov 28, Kunze said: "I wanted to write the human Mozart, not the legendary musician or the prodigy known as the "porcelain child".

"I've worked with huge stars as a record producer for almost 20 years, writing lyrics and recording songs for them," he says. He finds that stars have to separate their personal lives from the audience's perspective. "The musical tries to do this. We separate the human from the genius.

"As a human being, Mozart had a task to serve his genius. This is hard, because you want to lead a simple life and be happy," he said, explaining Mozart's struggles, which are encapsulated in the show's most significant piece, How Can You Get Rid of Your Shadow?, a song from the musical.

The musical debuted in 1999, has toured 10 countries, and has been seen by 3.2 million people.