La Conquista (opera)

La Conquista (also known as Montezuma) is an opera in two acts by Lorenzo Ferrero set to a trilingual libretto by the composer and Frances Karttunen, based on a concept by Alessandro Baricco. It depicts the major episodes of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521 and the subsequent destruction of the Aztec civilization. The libretto (English-Spanish-Nahuatl) is a blend of historical and literary sources drawn from transcriptions of indigenous and European literature, both kept, with some exceptions, in their original languages. The texts are taken from The Truthful History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, the Book XII of the Florentine Codex, the works of Juan Boscán Almogáver, Bernardino de Sahagún, Lope de Vega, Heinrich Heine, and from Aztec prayers, songs and poems as collected in Cantares Mexicanos and Romances de los señores de Nueva España.

The musical language owes very little to ethnic influences, but the use of the Nahuatl language, characterized by the presence of distinct short and long vowels, imposes a specific rhythm to the vocal part.

The premiere directed by Nicholas Muni and conducted by Zbyněk Müller took place at the Prague National Theatre on 12 March 2005.

Act 1 The Aztec chronicles prophesy disaster in the years preceding the arrival of the Spanish. One day, the prayer of Emperor Moctezuma in the temple is interrupted by the entrance of a group of messengers who bring him the news of the Spanish landing on the Gulf coast. Moctezuma is visibly worried and asks the men to keep their knowledge secret. The Emperor makes an offering to the gods and a priest sprinkles the messengers with the blood of the victim, then they are sent back carrying a message and laden with gifts for the newcomers. Left alone, Moctezuma is scrutinizing the uncertain future.

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