Description by John Keillor The Conquest of Mexico is a particularly evocative and approachable piece, categorized by the composer as a music drama, connecting it to the groundbreaking works of Wagner. Its narrative derives from four disparate sources. The title comes from a stage piece of the same name by Antonin Artaud, and his theoretical writings regarding The Seraphim Theater. As well, Rihm selected a poem from The Root of Man, a cycle by Octavio Paz, and three poems entitled Cantares mexicanos, which were most likely written by an anonymous, indigenous writer in the mid-sixteenth century from what is now Mexico. These sources are blended into a musical stage experience that features a theatrical, atmospheric continuity without a standard, linear narrative. It is a poetic experience, staged in such a way that offers an evocative rendering of the colonial tragedy. However, the horrors of colonial genocide are not the central point of the work. Rather it is a manifold overview of the human condition, based on various energies drives of living beings. True to Artauds writings, what gives this music drama its emotive power is not the moral/political ramifications surrounding the consumption of one nation by another, but rather the way the material works through it, delving into the most elemental properties of life and the human psyche as two worlds simply, regrettably, and inevitably collide. Artauds text is poetic in approach, as is Rihms music drama. The two main characters, Montezuma and Cortez, are not characters so much as figures represented by semi-anonymous female and male singers, which are elemental embodiments of fundamentally different cultures. The opening act, "Omens," features a ghostly appearance of Cortez amid music associated with the indigenous people of Mexico. It is not the sort of sinister premonition that implies impending evil, but indicative of a force coming, a bald force. In the second act, "Declaration," Cortez and Montezuma meet, and their initial potential mutual goodwill is diluted by their inability to understand each other. "Upheavals" features massacres (none of this is staged literally) wherein Montezuma and his lands are destroyed as Cortezs own inner world is thoroughly ruined by his own acts. Malinche, a translator, has appeared for this second half of the drama, enacting her translations through dance and seemingly accelerating the breakdown of communication between the two disparate parties. "Abdication" reinterprets history, wherein the Spanish soldiers die in battle, leaving only Cortez and Montezuma, male and female -- which brings the conflicts in operation throughout this artwork back to a sort of reduced beginning, back to principles of difference, collision, and barriers of understanding. This heady, large, and ambitious program is principally demonstrated through the musical manipulation of poetic forces. Just as the characters are symbolic composites, the music is transferred from one circumstance to another in a manner distantly related to Wagners Leitmotiv. In all, discussing this piece in a succinct format is as deceptive as it is informative, but it remains the case that there is an enormous amount to consider and wonder after in this score. Alto Vocals – Susanne Otto Chorus – Chor Der Hamburgischen Staatsoper Chorus Master – Jürgen Schulz Composed By – Wolfgang Rihm Conductor – Ingo Metzmacher Orchestra – Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg Other [Opera Production] – Peter Mussbach Soprano Vocals – Carmen Fugiss Vocals [Cortez] – Richard Salter (2) Vocals [Montezuma] – Renate Behle Voice Actor [Der Schreiende Mann] – Peter Kollek Voice Actor [Sprecher] – Georg Becker, Hans Joachim Frey Live recording of the premiere February 9, 1992. Opera based on texts by Antonin Artaud. CD 1 Total time: 5947 CD 2 Total time: 4818