Motezuma, Ryom-Verzeichnis 723, is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi with an Italian libretto by Alvise Giusti. The libretto is very loosely based on the life of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II who died in 1520. The first performance was given in the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice on 14 November 1733. (In earlier reference books the opera is referred to as Montezuma, but since the reappearance of the original manuscript this has been corrected to Motezuma.) The music was thought to have been lost, but was discovered in 2002 in the archive of the music library of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. Its first fully staged performance in modern times took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, on 21 September 2005.
A concert version of the opera, apparently the first performance since the 18th century, was performed on 11 June 2005 in the Concert Hall De Doelen in Rotterdam conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli. On 18 July 2005, a version of Motezuma was to have been performed by the Opera 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. The Motezuma libretto 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 in Düsseldorf, Germany, as part of the festival. It was performed by l'Orchestra Modo Antiquo conducted again by Sardelli. The Düsseldorf production was directed by Uwe Schmitz-Gielsdorf and designed by Paolo Atzori.Apthorp, Shirley (22 September 2005). "Vivaldi's Motezuma Has Dusseldorf Premiere After Court Win", Bloomberg News. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
The American premiere was held on 28 March 2009, in Long Beach, California, staged and performed by the Long Beach Opera with musical accompaniment by Musica Angelica directed by David Schweizer and conducted by Andreas Mitisek.Ng, David (March 22, 2009). "Vivaldi's 'Motezuma,' lost, found, restored, re-imagined", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
Moctezuma II, Emperor of Mexico | bass-baritone | Massimiliano Miler |
Mitrena, his wife | contralto | Anna Girò |
Isabel Moctezuma, his daughter | soprano | Gioseffa Pircker |
Fernando, General of the Spanish armies | soprano castrato | Francesco Bilanzoni |
Ramiro, his younger brother | mezzo-soprano (en travesti) | Angiola Zanuchi |
Asprano, General of the Mexicans | soprano castrato | Marianino Nicolini |
Further reading
|
|