Musicians and those who enjoy music should mark their calendars for “Amadeus,” a play centered on the — mostly fictionalized — lives of rival musicians Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri.

While there was animosity between the two great composers, they did share a mutual respect. Salieri not only tutored Mozart’s son but he also conducted some of Mozart’s pieces.

If given the opportunity to be a pupil of Salieri or Mozart, Jane Cox, director of the theater department at Iowa State, notes that although Salieri’s teaching methods were effective, she would choose Mozart before progressing to Salieri. 

“Mozart was not known for his teaching abilities, but was a genius as a creative artist,” Cox said. “The chance to see how his mind worked would be too irresistible for me to make another choice.”

In the play, Mozart is portrayed as a prodigy, able to compose masterpieces in his mind alone before transcribing them to sheet music. This, however, is a fallacy. Mozart often sketched out notes and played around with them on a keyboard before finalizing any pieces.

Cox found several interesting questions in the themes of the play. 

“What is genius, and where does it come from? Is it innate? What are the ethics behind the acts motivated by jealousy, or where does behavior cross the line?” Cox said. 

Mozart’s gift of music was indeed genius. Composing from the age of 5, Mozart’s father ensured he and his talented sister toured Europe and gained the attention they deserved. Able to mimic local styles and beautifully improvise, he wrote hundreds of pieces.

Salieri, an Italian composer, led an equally fascinating life. He wrote his operas in three different languages and was instrumental in the development of 18th century opera.

Salieri was a highly sought-after teacher. Some of his most notable star pupils included Franz Liszt, Beethoven and Franz Schubert.

During his lifetime, his music became “forgotten.” Coincidentally, it was not until the production of “Amadeus” that his work became popular again.

The show will be the first play of 2014 for ISU Theatre.

“Amadeus” made its debut at the Royal National Theatre in 1979. In 1980, Ian McKellen was cast as Salieri alongside Jane Seymour and Tim Curry on Broadway. They performed more than 1,000 shows, and the production was nominated for seven Tony Awards.

In 2006, even Neil Patrick Harris added “Mozart” to his repertoire at the Hollywood Bowl in celebration of what would have been the composer’s 250th birthday.