Amadeus

Amadeus 1845-90, king of Spain (1870-73), duke of Aosta, son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. After the expulsion (1868) of Queen Isabella II , Juan Prim urged the Cortes to elect Amadeus as king. He accepted the crown reluctantly. Just before the new king arrived in Spain, Prim was assassinated. The upper classes were opposed to Amadeus, who belonged to the anticlerical house of Savoy, and he was unable to gain significant support in any segment of society; repeated attempts were made on his life. When a new rebellion by the Carlists began, Amadeus abdicated and returned to Italy. A year later Alfonso XII was proclaimed king.

Amadeus (1980), a play by Peter Shaffer. Shaffer's version of the Mozart‐ Salieri story, told from Salieri's point of view, was done in London in 1979 and first offered to Broadway in 1980, winning the Tony Award and running just short of three years. Ian McKellen was the original American Salieri and Tim Curry was Mozart, under the careful direction of Peter Hall. An acclaimed London revival failed to run when brought to Broadway in 1999.