''Montezuma'' is an

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...

in three acts by the German composer

Carl Heinrich Graun Carl Heinrich Graun (7 May 1704 – 8 August 1759) was a German composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time. Biography Graun was born in Wahrenbrüc ...

. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

was written in French by Graun's patron,

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

, the King of Prussia, and turned into an Italian libretto by Giampetro Tagliazucchi. The work's plot concerns

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

conquest of Mexico The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...

and the defeat of the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

emperor Montezuma. It was first performed at the

Königliches Opernhaus The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

(Royal court opera) in Berlin on 6 January 1755. The title role was originally performed by a

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

, but today is performed by either a male

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

or a female

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

. The seven roles are Erissena (s), Eupaforice (s), Montezuma (ms), Tezeuco (alto), Pilpatoè (s), Narvès (t) and Cortès (b). In the original production, Giovanni Cinzio Tedeschi, a musico who sang under the stage name Amadori, and whose tenure in Berlin lasted only about a year, created the role of Montezuma. Giovanna Astrua portrayed Eupaforice. Antonio Huber (also spelled Uber), a musico known as Porporino, sang Cortes. The tenor Antonio Romani sang Tezeuco; the musico Paulo Bedeschi, known as Paulino, sang Pilpatoe; the musico Carlo Martinengo sang Narves; and Maria Giovanna Gasparini sang Erissena.

Performances and recordings

The U.S. premiere was given on 14 February 1973 by the Associate Artists Opera Company at the Cyclorama of the Boston Center for the Arts. Ernest Tripplett (founder of the company) sang the title role, supported by Richard Conrad, Mary Strebing, Wayne Riviera, Alexander Stevenson and Luther Enstad. John Minor conducted, with scenery by William Fregosi. ''Montezuma'' was performed in Montpellier in 1990 (under Latham-König) and in Edinburgh and Madrid in 2010 (under Garrido, who made cuts), and it will be performed by Berlin's Staatsoper at the Schiller Theater in January 2012, led by

Michael Hofstetter Michael Hofstetter (born 6 September 1961) is a German conductor and academic. He was chief conductor of the festival Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele from 2005 to 2012, and has been Generalmusikdirektor of Gießen since. He has worked internationa ...

. The first studio recording of the complete opera was made in 1991 and released on the Capriccio label. It was conducted by Johannes Goritzki. Another complete recording had been made live the previous year in Montpellier and broadcast by Radio France. One of the 2010 Madrid performances was recorded, too, and later broadcast by Czech Radio and possibly other broadcasters. Extended highlights from the opera, without the character Narvès, were recorded in 1966 by Decca:

Lauris Elms Lauris Margaret Elms (born 20 October 1931) is an Australian retired contralto, renowned for her roles in opera and lieder and as a recording artist. Biography She was born in Springvale, Victoria, the elder daughter of Harry Britton Elms and ...

in the title role, and

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...

Elizabeth Harwood Elizabeth Harwood (27 May 1938 – 22 June 1990) was an English lyric soprano. After a music school, she enjoyed an operatic career lasting for over two decades and worked with such conductors as Colin Davis and Herbert von Karajan. She was ...

and

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...

, conducted by

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

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References

{{Authority control 1755 operas Aztecs in fiction Italian-language operas Operas Operas by Carl Heinrich Graun Opera seria Operas set in Mexico