“First,I must get the death Mass,and then...”
Why it's great
Must and first frame a murder as a tidy plan.
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Formal
Use it yourself
First I must get the contract, and then I can start.
00:00 / 03:54
00:00 / 03:54
Salieri's Plan to Kill Mozart, Explained
Amadeus · 1984
Chapter 20 of 25 · 3'54"
Salieri isn't just confessing a murder fantasy. "I must achieve his death" is a composer's plan to turn Mozart's funeral into his own masterpiece — a Requiem he can hold up to God as proof he was chosen too, and to silence the God who never answered him.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:54–2:25
❝ Monologue · 8 lines It's One Thing to Dream About Killing
32s
Salieri's Plan to Kill Mozart, explained
What happens
In the asylum, Salieri tells Father Vogler how he finally found his revenge. He will secretly commission Mozart's death Mass, then have him killed and perform the Requiem over the coffin himself. He pictures all Vienna in the cathedral, silenced by music everyone believes only God could have written.
What's really going on
Strip the drama away and this is a confession about authorship. Salieri does not simply want Mozart gone; he wants the Requiem — the music the world will believe came from heaven — to be signed 'Antonio Salieri.' His fantasy ends not at the grave but in front of God: "Salieri has been touched by God at last... and God forced to listen!" The murder is secondary, almost an administrative step. What troubles him is that fantasy and deed are different things: "The only thing that worried me was the actual killing." He can stage the funeral in his head, but the hands-on part is where the plan becomes a crime.
Key lines & what they mean
- “First,I must get the death Mass,and then...”
- The first step of his plan: secretly obtain the Requiem Mozart is writing, so it can become Salieri's own work.
- “Salieri has been touched by God at last...”
- What he imagines the audience whispering at the funeral — proof, to him, that he has finally been chosen the way Mozart was.
- “I,for once,in the end,laughing at him!”
- His real goal: not just to kill Mozart but to mock God, to be the one who laughs last.
- “The only thing that worried me was the actual killing.”
- He can plan and dream without trouble; the single hard part is the physical act of murder.
- “His coffin. Mozart's little coffin in the middle.”
- The image that drives the fantasy: Mozart dead in the cathedral, the tiny coffin at the centre of the ceremony.
Theme
- Revenge — Salieri turns Mozart's death Mass into a weapon aimed at God, using the funeral to settle a private score.
- Faith — He measures himself against God throughout, begging to be chosen and finally claiming the Requiem as proof he was.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
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Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“Salieri has been touched by God at last...”
Why it's great
Speaking of himself in the third person reveals his craving for recognition.
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literary
Use it yourself
The town has been touched by luck at last.
“I,for once,in the end,laughing at him!”
Why it's great
The broken-up phrases make the revenge sound savoured word by word.
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literary
Use it yourself
Me, for once, getting the last laugh!
“The only thing that worried me was the actual killing.”
Why it's great
The confession lands the whole plan in one flat sentence.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
The only thing that worried me was the cost.
“His coffin. Mozart's little coffin in the middle.”
Why it's great
Two bare noun phrases move like camera shots, chilling and precise.
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literary
Use it yourself
The room. One small chair in the middle.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Salieri imagines the killing
The only thing that worried me was the actual killing. How does one do that? How does one kill a man? It's one thing... ...to dream about it. Very different when you... When you have to do it... ...with your own hands.
From dreaming to doing it yourself, the monologue admits the fear plainly.
Up next · 21a lost causeThe scene: Mozart Begs the Baron for MoneyTakeaways
What you walk away with- Achieving death is a cold, mismatched collocation.
- With your own hands stresses doing it personally.
- Burst out means erupt suddenly.
- His fear is of the deed, not the plan.
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Questions, then the linesWhy does Salieri want to commission Mozart's Requiem and then kill him?
Because the Requiem would let Salieri claim the one thing he wants most: a masterpiece that proves God touched him instead of Mozart. Killing Mozart is how he takes the music for himself and stages his revenge.
Why does Salieri say God would be forced to listen?
In his fantasy, the Requiem is so sublime that all Vienna will believe Salieri was finally chosen by God. If God cannot stop the performance, Salieri wins the argument he has been having with heaven.
Why is the actual killing the only thing that worries him?
Dreaming about a murder costs nothing; doing it with his own hands is a different thing entirely. Salieri can imagine the funeral and the music, but he has no idea how a man actually kills someone.
Is Salieri's plan really about Mozart, or about God?
Mostly about God. Mozart is the instrument; the Requiem is Salieri's message to heaven. He wants the world to hear that he, not Mozart, was the one who deserved the gift.