Mozart and Salieri (Russian: Моцарт и Сальери, romanized: Motsart i Salyeri listenⓘ) is a one-act opera in two scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, written in 1897 to a Russian libretto taken almost verbatim from Alexander Pushkin's 1830 verse drama of the same name.

The story follows the apocryphal legend that Antonio Salieri poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart out of jealousy over the latter's music.

The first UK performance in the United Kingdom was presented on 11 October 1927, again with Chaliapin as Salieri,[3] while the first U.S. one took place in Forest Park, Pennsylvania, in 1933.

Time: End of the 18th century Place: Vienna, Austria Salieri enjoys high social position as a composer, and has dedicated himself to the service of his art.

Salieri ends the opera pondering Mozart's belief that a genius could not murder: did not Michelangelo kill for his commissions at the Vatican, or were those idle rumors?