With Love, Amadeus

Nothing is more revealing of a person’s character than their private letters, especially if they are not intended for publication... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s letters are candid, emotional, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking as we follow his precarious fortunes, his triumphs and hardships, his reliance on fickle patronage, his occasional penury, his cheeky letters to his cousin and his desperation to please a tyrannical father.

As Australian theatre legend John Bell traces the life and career of Mozart, reading extensively from his letters along with comments by some of his contemporaries, extraordinary concert pianist Simon Tedeschi performs a soundtrack to the young composer's life with a range of Mozart’s exhilarating music for piano, including some of his best-loved works such as his Fantasia in D minor (K.397), Twinkle Twinkle variations, and his Rondo Alla Turca (Turkish march).

With love, Amadeus shines the spotlight once more on one of classical music's enduring heroes, in a thrilling fifth collaboration between two of Australia's leading artists from theatre and classical music, John Bell and Simon Tedeschi.

“With Love, Amadeus is the real deal, and we have actor John Bell and pianist Simon Tedeschi to thank for it. ... There is a sense that Tedeschi is embodying the spirit of Mozart, providing a glimpse of the composer as both musical genius and loveable clown” – Limelight, 2023

John Bell AO OBE

John Bell is one of Australia’s most acclaimed actors and directors. He has been instrumental in shaping the Australian theatre industry as we know it. After graduating from Sydney University in 1962 John worked for the Old Tote Theatre Company, all of Australia’s state theatre companies and was an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Britain. As co-founder of Sydney’s Nimrod Theatre Company, John presented many productions of landmark Australian plays and initiated an Australian Shakespeare style. In 1990 John founded The Bell Shakespeare Company which continues to thrive, presenting works of Shakespeare and other classics over 30 years. John directed Tosca, Carmen and Madame Butterfly for Opera Australia and The Rake’s Progress for Victorian Opera. Other recent plays include Molière's The Miser and Uncle Vanya for STC (also New York and Washington), The Father for STC/MTC and Diplomacy for Ensemble Theatre. John has toured with Simon Tedeschi in 2017/18 with Enoch Arden and Bright Star, and in 2019-2021 with Echoes Of The Jazz Age; collaborations in 2022 and 2023 include both Words & Music and With love, Amadeus.

John has achieved several honours including numerous Helpmann Awards and Sydney Theatre Awards and nominations plus a number of prestigious Lifetime Achievement awards and a National Trust Living National Treasure award. John Bell is an Officer of the Order of Australia and the Order of the British Empire and has been awarded honorary Doctor of Letters Degrees by the Universities of Newcastle, Sydney and NSW. In 1997 he was named by the National Trust as one of Australia’s National Living Treasures. John’s second book, ‘Some acheive greatness..’ was released to acclaim in 2021 and current season engagements also include Sydney Theatre Company, ‘One man in his time’ for Bell Shakespeare, and ‘A Christmas Carol’ for Ensemble Theatre.

Photo Credit: PierreToussaint

Simon Tedeschi

Simon Tedeschi is one of Australia’s most renowned classical pianists. Recipient of the Young Performer of the Year Award, the Creativity Foundation’s Legacy Award (USA), the New York Young Jewish Pianist Award and a Centenary of Federation Medal, he has performed for audiences, royalty and world leaders worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall via Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.

Acclaimed by respected critics and peers as “true greatness” (SMH), Simon performed his first Mozart piano concerto in the Sydney Opera House aged nine, later studying in the USA and performing with the Colorado, Fort Worth and Illinois Symphony Orchestras. Since returning in 2009, he regularly performs as soloist with all the major Australian symphony orchestras, and tours nationally for festivals, venues and presenters including Musica Viva Australia both solo and in chamber recitals. Uncommonly for a classical pianist, Tedeschi also dabbles in jazz, and has co-written and toured internationally the Sydney Opera House’ Meeting Mozart show (for children), and a number of shows combining words and music, with Monkey Baa Theatre, and with Australian theatre icon, John Bell AO OBE.

Current season engagements include as piano soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrea Molino; with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by André de Ridder; ‘With love, Amadeus’ with John Bell, festival appearances including Blackheath Chamber Music and Woodend Winter Arts Festival (VIC), concerts with jazz violinist/vocalist, George Washingmachine and a fundraising concert for Médécins Sans Frontières. Other recent engagements include as soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (conductor Gemma New), a fundraising concert for Ukraine, performances around Australia with John Bell, and several music and writing festival appearances.

With numerous recordings for ABC Classics/Universal Music, including The Gershwin Collection, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, R. Strauss’ Enoch Arden, Schumann, Schubert and concerti by Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Grieg, Simon’s latest album for ABC Classic is ‘Debussy – Ravel’ with violist Roger Benedict in 2022.

Photo Credit: Keith Saunders

QLD Premiere

John Bell AO OBE

Simon Tedeschi