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. The title role was originally performed by a castrato, but today is performed by either a male countertenor or female mezzo-soprano. The seven roles are Erissena (s), Eupaforice (s), Montezuma (ms), Tezeuco (alto), Pilpatoè (t), Narvès (t) and Cortès (b).

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.

Montezuma

Montezuma, Moctezuma, Moteczoma, Motecuhzoma, Moteuczomah, and Mwatazuma are variant spellings of the same word and may refer to:

People

Montezuma (BBC documentary)

Montezuma is a 2009 BBC Television documentary film in which Dan Snow examines the reign of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II.

Production

The film was produced by BBC Wales to tie in with the exhibition Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler at the British Museum.

Reception

Reviews

Alex Hardy writing in The Times states that, Dan Snow jumps around from moral codes, to superstitions, to food production, to using sacrifice as a weapon of state control as he describes how the Aztec civilisation rose inordinately quickly — in less time than it took the US to become a “world leader”, and, asks: was [Montezuma] rather a tragic figure, a victim of circumstance? He concludes that, If the British Museum’s forthcoming exhibition on the Aztec leader... is anything like as intensely packed as this hour-long documentary, then its £12 entrance fee will certainly be fair game.

Ratings

Broadcast 2009-09-19: 1.1 million viewers (5% audience share).

Synopsis

Dan Snow journeys to the ancient heart of Mexico in search of the lost civilisation of the Aztecs and their last and greatest ruler, Montezuma II (1502–1520). Montezuma inherited an empire of five million people, stretching from present-day Mexico to Nicaragua, from his uncle. His rule was marked by incessant warfare.

Montezuma (mythology)

Montezuma was the name of a heroic-god in the mythology of certain Amerindian tribes of the Southwest United States, notably the Tohono O'odham and Pueblo peoples — Also known as Aztec Emperors of the same name in Mexico, Moctezuma I and Moctezuma II.

Tohono O'odham version

In the Tohono O'odham legend, at the beginning of time the Great Spirit finds clay by digging a hole; he then drops the clay into the hole again and out comes Montezuma, who assists him in bringing out all the Indian tribes, with the Apache last of all. It is said that all men and animals were speaking a common language in the early days; however a great flood destroyed everyone, with only Montezuma and his friend, Coyote, escaping. Because Coyote had warned him of the flood beforehand, Montezuma had fashioned a boat that he kept prepared on the peak of the Santa Rosa Mountains in Arizona. Coyote likewise made a boat for himself, by gnawing down a giant cane and stopping it with gum.

After the flood had subsided, Montezuma and Coyote meet again atop Monte Rosa, and Montezuma sends Coyote out four times, once in each direction, to find out how far the sea is. He quickly returned from the south and the west, reporting that it was nearby. The journey east took a bit longer, but eventually he found the sea there also. Finally, he journeys northward and never finds water before growing tired.