MOZART!
A two-act musical about a music legend – MOZART!
A child prodigy destined for a bright future, yet torn throughout his life between brilliance and self‑destruction.
The Kaunas State Musical Theatre invites Klaipėda residents and guests to the musical Mozart! by Austrian creators — librettist and lyricist Michael Kunze and composer Sylvester Levay. Their story of a wunderkind told through a fantastically blended score of rock and rococo has earned great success not only in Austria but also on musical theatre stages around the world.
The production in Kaunas was staged by director Viktorija Streiča, with music director and conductor Jonas Janulevičius, set designer Artūras Šimonis, enchanting baroque costumes and makeup by Juozas Statkevičius, and choreography and movement by Dainius Bervingis. A large team of theatre artists contributed to the production, featuring a wide cast of soloists, choir and ballet artists, and the theatre orchestra enhanced by a rhythm section that adds a rock sound. The role of Wolfgang Mozart is performed by two theatre artists — Martynas Beinaris and Vygantas Bemovas; in Klaipėda, audiences will see Vygantas Bemovas.
In Mozart!, Austrian creators present one of the most iconic figures in Austria’s cultural history — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), a genius of the music world. One of the most celebrated classical composers of all time, Mozart enchanted listeners with his masterful melodies and gained notoriety for his extravagant lifestyle — strikingly similar to that of modern pop stars. After a dazzling, feverishly fast career, he died at only 35.
“The central idea of Mozart! reveals the protagonist’s conflict with the world around him. Although the story takes place in the 18th century, modern audiences will immediately recognise the struggles he faces and discover parallels with their own lives. Mozart confronts an inevitable fate and the painful drama of becoming — which makes his story moving and timeless.”
Speaking about the staging, the uniqueness of Mozart’s personality, and his early “burnout,” director Viktorija Streiča shares:
“I love the parallel between the words to create and to burn. Creators in every era burn themselves in the process of creating. Some burn with a small flame, others — with a massive pyre. The greater the artist, the brighter the fire that illuminates our lives for centuries. Mozart’s flame was one of the brightest in cultural history — yet he burned out very quickly. Sadly, we will never know whether he could have burned more slowly and lived longer.
Mozart was unique, one of the most gifted humans in history. His talent makes us eternally doubt our own creative abilities. He was not only incredibly gifted — he could write a symphony overnight, with no revisions, and perform it from memory the next day. Understanding that, we see how extraordinary his intellect was. With such analytical, synthetic and memory abilities, Mozart could have been brilliant in any field. Yet despite his high intelligence, he remained a child in everyday life — impractical, extravagant, naive, celebrating life to the fullest.
Our production does not present an idealised classical composer, the bust on the piano in a music school — but a vivid, vital, sparkling personality.”
Music director and conductor Jonas Janulevičius notes that both Kunze & Levay musicals staged in Kaunas — Elisabeth and Mozart! — are based on historical figures and biographical facts, remaining faithful to historical truth.
“To create and stage musicals that portray the lives of stars who never lost their fame — Empress Sisi and the genius Mozart — is a great challenge. First for the composers and librettists, then for us, the production team, who must extract the colours and nuances described in the text and music and paint them uniquely, using our ensemble, soloists, and stage possibilities.
Other theatres may stage the same musical, but our Mozart! becomes something entirely different. Levay’s Mozart! is a contemporary musical with a strong rock presence. There are about ten short Mozart quotations — only two or three seconds each — a small cherry on top. Levay managed to infuse rock with Mozart’s stylistic flavours, blending the colours into something new: ‘rock in rococo style.’ How does that sound? Come and hear.”
Set designer Artūras Šimonis shares about the creative process:
“I read a lot about Mozart’s life, but the greatest influence was Forman’s film Amadeus — it helped me shape a clear impression. We will not see museum Baroque or Rococo. I told myself I am playing with Baroque, because the musical genre and its sound are closer to the 1990s. I created the scenography according to musical theatre principles — dynamic, constantly changing. And certain elements expand the stylistic image of the era, complemented, of course, by Statkevičius’ costumes.”
Fashion designer Juozas Statkevičius speaks playfully about the costumes and makeup:
“We still have plenty to do — in theatre everything changes in an instant, and that’s what makes it exciting. Audiences vary: some come for the music or to see a favourite artist. But even if someone doesn’t understand the music or the voices or the storyline — they will at least enjoy the costumes. So I create large décolletés — clearly visible from the balcony! The men dragged to the theatre by their wives will have something to look at. We depict an era where the décolleté was the essence of the costume. Will there be Baroque? Will there be modern elements? It will be a surprise. Luxury, beauty, silk, décolletés — and true Baroque… though which kind, I won’t reveal. Theatre must enchant — make you forget reality, dream, imagine, admire.”
Vygantas Bemovas, who performs Mozart in Klaipėda, says:
“In this show I feel like a ‘rockstar’ of that era — like Mozart, like Mercury. It’s wonderful. I’m grateful to the director for letting me be myself. The role demands constant movement — Mozart was incredibly expressive, almost ADHD-like. The mannerisms, the energy — everything resembles today’s rockstars from the 80s or 90s.”
Summary
Mozart! is rock brilliance in a rococo world.
A collision of eras — the irreconcilable clashing of past and present — reflects the protagonist’s dual nature. Mozart feels suffocated by courtly traditions but longs for creative and personal freedom, to live, dream, carouse, gamble, love. The former child prodigy is relentlessly haunted by his genius — embodied by the “porcelain child,” Amadeus.
Sylvester Levay’s score highlights this duality: modern genres — ballads, ragtime, rock — are blended with delicate rococo motifs that appear whenever Amadeus, Mozart’s alter ego, sits at the piano. Instead of reinforcing the myth of the untouchable genius, the musical presents Mozart as flawed, fragile, and profoundly human.
Mozart! seeks to liberate Mozart from clichés and shallow worship, allowing audiences to meet him as a real, living, breathing person.
The world premiere of Mozart! took place at Theater an der Wien in 1999. The first international premiere followed in Hamburg in 2001. Productions have since been staged in nine countries — Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, and Sweden — in seven languages, with over 2,300 performances seen by more than 2.5 million people.
Creative Team
Director: Viktorija Streiča
Music Director & Conductor: Jonas Janulevičius
Set Designer: Artūras Šimonis
Costume & Makeup Designer: Juozas Statkevičius
Conductor: Oksana Madaraš
Choreographer: Dainius Bervingis
Choir Master: Rasa Vaitkevičiūtė
Lighting Designer: Audrius Jankauskas
Video Projections: Arvydas Strimaitis
Cast
Wolfgang Mozart — Martynas Beinaris, Vygantas Bemovas
Leopold Mozart — Laimonas Pautienius
Nannerl Mozart — Ingrida Kažemėkaitė
Hieronymus Colloredo — Jeronimas Milius
Count Arco — Žygimantas Galinis
Cäcilia Weber — Ieva Vaznelytė
Constanze Weber — Marija Arutiunova
Baroness von Waldstätten — Živilė Lamauskienė
Emanuel Schikaneder — Žanas Voronovas
Anna Maria Mozart / Maria Theresa — Viktorija Streiča
Aloysia Weber — Ieva Goleckytė
Josepha Weber — Gabrielė Bielskytė
Sofia Weber — Agnė Kurauskaitė
Fridolin Weber / Johann Thorwart — Faustas Januška
Franz Anton Mesmer / Joseph II — Dainius Bervingis
Choir, ballet, orchestra, and rhythm section of the Kaunas State Musical Theatre.
