La Conquista (also known as Montezuma) is an opera in two acts by Lorenzo Ferrero set to a trilingual libretto by the composer and Frances Karttunen, based on a concept by Alessandro Baricco.

The libretto (English-Spanish-Nahuatl) is a blend of historical and literary sources drawn from transcriptions of indigenous and European literature, both kept, with some exceptions, in their original languages.

[1] The premiere directed by Nicholas Muni[2] and conducted by Zbyněk Müller took place at the Prague National Theatre on 12 March 2005.

One day, the prayer of Emperor Moctezuma in the temple is interrupted by the entrance of a group of messengers who bring him the news of the Spanish landing on the Gulf coast.

The Emperor makes an offering to the gods and a priest sprinkles the messengers with the blood of the victim, then they are sent back carrying a message and laden with gifts for the newcomers.

When Cortés tries to force an Aztec to worship the cross, Father Olmedo advises against such violence and leads the delegation away.

The conquistadors set out across inaccessible mountains and after a long march fraught with many fights with the local tribes they reach Paso de Cortés overlooking the Valley of Mexico and get a "first glimpse of things never heard of, seen, or dreamed of before."

Coming from opposite sides in a long and complex ceremony the cortège of Moctezuma and the army of Cortés meet.

In the absence of Cortés, taking advantage of the religious ceremonies of the Aztecs in the Great Temple, Alvarado and his men massacre them.

The date 1 cōātl of the year 3 calli written in Aztec symbols transforms itself into the Western numeral system: 13 August 1521.