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In Steppenwolf Theatre’s “Amadeus,” running through January, Antonio Salieri is the villain. That play and its 1984 film adaptation repeated fictions that have tarred the composer’s reputation for centuries: that Salieri was unseated by Mozart as the composer du jour , became a bad sport about it, then yearned for the younger musician’s downfall — or worse.

For a taste of the real Salieri, head across town to Chicago Opera Theater’s production this weekend. “Falstaff, or the Three Pranks,” his 1799 opera with librettist Carlo Prospero Defranceschi, is one of many comic operas penned by this supposedly surly composer. Like many of those overlooked opuses, it’s a goofy delight, as was its Chicago premiere on Wednesday.

Director Robin Guarin

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