Okay, so there’s this little headcanon of mine that, during vivre à en crever, when the death kisses mozart and he gets this “shock” before dropping his head,..
Well, Salieri is there, isn’t he? He’s the only one there. He is, I think, even holding Mozart when he dies (they let go in the song, but Mozart soully lets go to get “kissed”, so I count that as still physically holding).
So Salieri has to to close Mozart’s empty eyes. He has to lay his corpse on the bed. He has to be alone with him until Constance returns.
Salieri sees mozart die. How much, do you think, did he crie? How tempted was he to bring up that knife again, pour se revoir, pour renaître? How broken was he?
In my mind, when the angel kisses Mozart, Salieri falls to his knees. He confesses all the deserved compliments he never gave him in life. He closes his eyes gently. He kisses his forehead. He lays him on the bed. He does not let go of him until Constance returns. Then he takes his leave, and brings the requiem with him to his home.
There he writes the most heartbreaking music he has ever composed. It has far too much notes. He does not care. He cries.