A romanticised account of the heroic but doomed defense of Mexico by its last Aztec emperor,
Cuauhtémoc,
Guatimotzin was one of the earliest Mexican operas to use a native subject and to incorporate indigenous music into its score.
Aniceto Ortega, who was also a prominent physician and surgeon, worked on the composition in his free time between patients and late at night. According to
Robert Stevenson, the latter resembles the third movement of
Beethoven's Seventh Symphony rather more than it does indigenous music, but the score would later cause Ortega "to be hailed as a Mexican
Glinka". When de Cuéllar became ill at one point, Ortega also worked on parts of the libretto.
Guatimotzin premiered on 13 September 1871 at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Mexico City. It was performed as a benefit for the conductor, Enrico Moderati, by members of
Ángela Peralta's opera company with
Enrico Tamberlik in the title role. The sets and costumes were designed by Riccardo Fontana, based on drawings in the
Mendoza Codex and advice from prominent historians. According to the art historian, Christopher Fulton, the opera's premiere was its sole performance. However, its staging may have influenced the depiction of Cuauhtémoc's torture and death in the
bronze relief by Gabriel Guerra on the
Cuauhtémoc Monument in Mexico City. ==Principal roles==