Montezuma (Graun)

Montezuma is an opera seria in three acts by the German composer Carl Heinrich Graun. The libretto was written in French by Graun's patron, Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia, and turned into an Italian libretto by Giampetro Tagliazucchi.

The work's plot concerns Hernán Cortés's conquest of Mexico and the defeat of the Aztec emperor Montezuma. It was first performed at the Königliches Opernhaus (Royal court opera) in Berlin on 6 January 1755. The title role was originally performed by a castrato, but today is performed by either a male countertenor or a female mezzo-soprano. 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.