| Motezuma | |
|---|---|
| Opera byAntonio Vivaldi | |
 18th-century depiction of the Aztec rulerMontezuma, the opera's protagonist | |
| Librettist | Alvise Giusti |
| Premiere | |
Motezuma,RV 723, is anopera in three acts byAntonio Vivaldi with an Italianlibretto byAlvise Giusti. The libretto is very loosely based on the life of the Aztec rulerMontezuma who died in 1520. The first performance was given in theTeatro Sant'Angelo in Venice on 14 November 1733. (In earlier reference books the opera is referred to asMontezuma, but since the reappearance of the original manuscript this has been corrected toMotezuma.) The music was thought to have been lost, but was discovered in 2002 in the archive of the music library of theSing-Akademie zu Berlin. Its first fully staged performance in modern times took place inDüsseldorf, Germany, on 21 September 2005.
Vivaldi's librettist was the Venetian lawyerGirolamo Giusti. His libretto was a highly fictionalised account of an episode in the life of the Aztec rulerMontezuma. The opera has a happy ending, unlike the real Montezuma who was killed during the initial stages of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The opera, which premiered on 14 November 1733 at theTeatro Sant'Angelo in Venice, was one of the earliest to be based on a subject from the Americas. According toMichael Talbot inThe Vivaldi Compendium, for its time Giusti's libretto "evinces a rare degree of sympathy for the Mexican emperor and his queen Mirena." At the premiere the role of Mirena was sung byAnna Girò, who was a protégée of Vivaldi and whom he considered his "indispensable" prima donna. The title role was sung by the German bass Massimiliano Miler. Unusually for Vivaldi, who preferredcastrato singers withcontralto voices, he wrote two roles forsoprano castrati—Fernando (Cortés) and Asperano, the Mexican general. The choreographer at the premiere was Giovanni Gallo. The sets were designed by Antonio Mauro.[1][2][3]
Although the libretto printed at the time of the premiere survived, the music was thought to have been lost until it was rediscovered in 2002. AfterWorld War II, the Sing-Akademie's library was captured by theRed Army and taken to the Soviet Union, eventually ending up inKyiv, now inUkraine.[4] Following the restitution of the Sing-Akademie collection to Germany, the fragmentary score ofMotezuma (the beginning of the first act and large parts of third are missing) was identified by the musicologistSteffen Voss [de].[2] Musicologists began working on reconstructing a version suitable for performance. The Sing-Akademie then asserted that they had apublication right, including derivative rights such asperforming rights, to the opera.[5]
A concert version of the opera, apparently the first performance since the 18th century, was performed on 11 June 2005 in the Concert HallDe Doelen in Rotterdam conducted byFederico Maria Sardelli.[2] On 18 July 2005, a version ofMotezuma was to have been performed by theOpera Barga Festival in Italy, also conducted by Sardelli. The Rotterdam performance had gone ahead only after a substantial payment to the Sing-Akademie. However, the Barga performance was halted by an injunction, with a potential €250,000 penalty for non-compliance. The reason given was that German law offers copyright protection to entities such as the Sing-Akademie that publish previously inaccessible works. Because the injunction was issued one week before the date of the Barga performance, a "pastiche" was performed. TheMotezuma librettorecitatives were spoken, and other Vivaldi arias sung between them. In mid-September 2005, the injunction was lifted which allowed the first staged performance in modern times to take place on 21 September 2005 inDüsseldorf, Germany, as part of theAltstadtherbst [de] festival. It was performed by l'OrchestraModo Antiquo conducted again by Sardelli. The Düsseldorf production was directed by Uwe Schmitz-Gielsdorf and designed by Paolo Atzori.[5]
The American premiere was held on 28 March 2009, in Long Beach, California, staged and performed by theLong Beach Opera with musical accompaniment by Musica Angelica directed by David Schweizer and conducted by Andreas Mitisek.[6]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 14 November 1733[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Motezuma,Emperor of Mexico | bass-baritone | Massimiliano Miler |
| Mitrena,his wife | contralto | Anna Girò |
| Teutile,his daughter | soprano | Gioseffa Pircker |
| Fernando,General of the Spanish armies | sopranocastrato | Francesco Bilanzoni |
| Ramiro,his younger brother | mezzo-soprano (en travesti) | Angiola Zanuchi |
| Asprano,General of the Mexicans | soprano castrato | Marianino Nicolini |
Other operas with Montezuma as the protagonist:
A related opera (in which Montezuma himself does not appear):
Further reading
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