The legendary story of the fierce Aztec ruler who briefly routed Spanish invaders five centuries ago took center stage at one of the modern Mexican capital’s best-known theaters, and the opera’s performers did not sing in any European language.Instead, the actors belted out their songs in the Aztecs’ own imperial tongue of Nahuatl, still spoken by millions of indigenous Mexicans, though helpful Spanish-language supertitles were flashed above the stage at Mexico City’s ornate Fine Arts Palace.
The opera tells the story of King Cuitlahuac, the next-to-last Aztec emperor, who valiantly fought off Spanish soldiers and their native allies in 1520, leading a revolt that killed at least hundreds while forcing many more weighed down with stolen treasures to flee for their lives.
Despite his heroics Cuitlahuac is less known than his older brother, King Moctezuma, who was killed the day before the revolt, according to one early colonial account.
“In this country and in many others, you have the idea that opera is European and only done in Italian or in French, and it shouldn’t be that way,” added Zyman.
“This is a Mexican story, so why shouldn’t it be in the Aztec language?”
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