About the work
Music-theatre work by Wolfgang Rihm to his own libretto, combining Antonin Artaud's 1932/33 scenario "The Conquest of Mexico" with passages from Artaud's theatre manifestos and a poem by Octavio Paz. Rihm worked on the score from 1987 to 1991; it premiered on 9 February 1992 at the Hamburg State Opera.
Plot
Rather than a historical drama, the work stages the encounter between the Spanish conqueror Cortez and the Aztec ruler Montezuma as a ritual confrontation between two world views – action versus endurance – in collaged tableaux. Only as he dies does Montezuma undergo an inner transformation.
Cultural significance
Rihm initially preferred the term "music theatre" to "opera" for the piece, finding it more comprehensive. Despite its radical form, "Die Eroberung von Mexico" is among the most frequently staged contemporary music-theatre works, with productions in Cologne, Madrid, Frankfurt and, in 2015, at the Salzburg Festival.