“It has been banned by the emperor.”
Por qué es buena
The passive with has been states the ban as an accomplished fact.
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The film has been banned in several countries.
00:00 / 04:07
00:00 / 04:07
Mozart Defends Figaro to the Emperor, Explained
Amadeus · 1984
Capítulo 16 de 25 · 4'07"
Court gossip reaches the Emperor: Mozart is setting the banned French play Figaro as an opera. Summoned, Mozart is told, "It is not your place to ask questions," and hears the Emperor's case against the play. Mozart answers that he has removed everything that could give offense, calls it a frolic, and promises the audience will go mad for it.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:53–2:34
❝ Monólogo · 10 frases The emperor on Figaro
From tolerance to his sister's fear, he turns a ban into statecraft.
41s - 2:36–3:52
Mozart Pitches the Finale
75s
Mozart Defends Figaro to the Emperor, explained
What happens
Word reaches the Emperor that Mozart is adapting Figaro, the French play he has banned, into an opera. The Emperor summons him and makes the case for censorship: the play stirs up hatred between classes and could provoke the people. Mozart insists he has cut anything that might give offense, calls the piece a frolic, and describes the finale that builds from a duet into a septet and octet.
What's really going on
Figaro is banned, and that is precisely why it is worth talking about. The courtiers bring the news as gossip, knowing the Emperor will react; the Emperor treats the subject as a matter of order, not taste: "It stirs up hatred between classes." Mozart's defense is careful and revealing - he says he has removed everything that could give offense and insists, "I hate politics." He wants the work judged as music, while the court judges it as a weapon. The finale he describes, a duet swelling into a septet and octet, is his real argument: not politics but craft, voices piling up until the effect is impossible to ignore. He ends by betting on the audience - the people will go mad for it - which is exactly the kind of popularity the Emperor fears.
Key lines & what they mean
- “It has been banned by the emperor.”
- The key fact the courtiers drop: the source play is already forbidden, so Mozart's new opera is built on something the Emperor has ruled out.
- “I do not censor things lightly. When I do,I have good reason.”
- The Emperor's defense of his own restraint: he presents censorship as deliberate and justified rather than arbitrary.
- “I've taken out everything that could give offense. I hate politics.”
- Mozart's plea that the work has been cleaned of anything dangerous, and that he has no political intent at all.
- “Majesty,this is just a frolic. A piece about love.”
- His attempt to shrink the opera into harmless entertainment, reducing a political play to a love comedy.
- “It's entirely new. The people will go mad for it.”
- The pitch that finally answers nothing: Mozart sells novelty and popularity, the very thing the Emperor distrusts.
Theme
- Power — The Emperor decides what art is permitted, and Mozart must defend his opera inside a censorship he cannot appeal.
- Philosophy — The scene stages the clash between a censor's view of art as dangerous and a composer's view of it as music alone.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel0/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“I do not censor things lightly. When I do,I have good reason.”
Por qué es buena
The emphatic do and the calm follow-up make censorship sound reasonable.
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Formal
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We do not refuse applications lightly.
“I've taken out everything that could give offense. I hate politics.”
Por qué es buena
He clears himself first, then waves the politics away.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
I've taken out everything that could upset them.
“Majesty,this is just a frolic. A piece about love.”
Por qué es buena
Calling it a frolic shrinks the whole scandal down to a romp.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
Relax, this is just a frolic.
“It's entirely new. The people will go mad for it.”
Por qué es buena
Go mad for exaggerates the coming popularity with confidence.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
The audience will go mad for this song.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ The emperor on Figaro
...I am a tolerant man. I do not censor things lightly. When I do,I have good reason. "Figaro" is a bad play. It stirs up hatred between classes. In France,it has caused only bitterness. My sister Antoinette is beginning to be frightened of her own people. I swear,there's nothing like that in the piece. I've taken out everything that could give offense. I hate politics. I'm afraid you're rather innocent. In these dangerous times I cannot afford to provoke our people...
From tolerance to his sister's fear, he turns a ban into statecraft.
Siguiente · 17fed to the teethLa escena: Mozart Argues Opera With the CourtIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- Stir up intensifies the emotion being provoked.
- Give offense is a formal way to say insult.
- A frolic shrinks a scandal into a romp.
- The emperor's ban is politics dressed as morality.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy has the Emperor banned Figaro?
He says it stirs up hatred between classes and caused bitterness in France. With his sister Antoinette frightened of her own people, he cannot risk a play about servants outwitting their masters.
Why is Mozart's opera such a problem?
He has adapted the banned play instead of avoiding it. To the court it looks like defiance, so the Emperor questions him directly about whether the rumor is true.
How does Mozart defend his opera?
He says he has removed everything that could give offense and calls it a frolic about love. He also argues that only opera could build the finale he describes, shifting the topic from politics to craft.
What is the finale Mozart describes?
An act-ending number that begins as a duet, then grows into a trio, quartet, quintet and beyond. He claims it runs twenty minutes, an effect he says only opera can achieve.
Why does the Emperor distrust a popular opera?
Because popularity means the people are listening. He already fears unrest, and a piece the whole city loves is harder to control than one that is merely banned.