The work's plot concerns Hernán Cortés's conquest of Mexico and the defeat of the Aztec emperor Montezuma.

In the original production, Giovanni Cinzio Tedeschi, a musico who sang under the stage name Amadori, and whose tenure in Berlin lasted only about a year, created the role of Montezuma.

[4] Ernest Tripplett (founder of the company) sang the title role, supported by Richard Conrad, Mary Strebing, Wayne Riviera, Alexander Stevenson and Luther Enstad.

[5][6] Another complete recording had been made live the previous year in Montpellier and broadcast by Radio France.

Extended highlights from the opera, without the character Narvès, were recorded in 1966 by Decca: Lauris Elms in the title role, and Joan Sutherland, Elizabeth Harwood and Joseph Ward, conducted by Richard Bonynge.