Italian Mexican Opera to Premiere at FIU on Valentine’s Day

A historic encounter between the second Aztec emperor Moctezuma and the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1519 has been turned into an opera to be performed at FIU on Valentine's Day. Photo courtesy of FIU Flickr.

Nayeli Lomeli/Staff Writer

A historic encounter between the second Aztec emperor Moctezuma and the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1519 has been turned into an opera.

The performance will premiere at FIU’s Wertheim Performing Arts Center on Valentine’s Day. 

The Mexican Italian opera will perform music written by one of the greatest Baroque composers, Antonio Vivaldi.

Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque musical composer, violinist, teacher and priest in the early 1700s. 

His work will be brought to life in a new version reconstructed by Mattias Maute, the Artistic Director of the Bach Society of Minnesota.

“Motezuma,” which was performed for the first time in 1733, celebrates a cultural and national collaboration with a tour of performances in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The opera will feature an international cast of singers from Mexico, Spain, the U.S. and Canada who will perform alongside the Ensemble Caprice, a leading baroque orchestra from Montreal.

This concert version will include theatrical elements as actor Pedro Juan Fonseca will be the speaking role for Emperor Motezuma.

As part of RK Cultural Productions’ “Bach to School” outreach program, the performance will also feature a chorus of 100 Miami students from local South Florida schools.

The concert will be presented by RK Cultural Productions and is co-sponsored by Bach Society of Minnesota and the FIU School of Music. 

Tickets to the performance are free for FIU faculty, staff and students with I.D. and are $30 for general admission.

The show will take place on Friday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. in the WPAC Concert Hall on FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus. 

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