…the exotic story concerns the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the defeat of its ruler Montezuma by the conquistador Fernando Cortez. Curtis has assembled a vocally accomplished cast. Montezuma, a bass role, is sung with resonant authority by Vito Priante while that of Mitrena, his wife, is projected with feminine charm by Marijana Mijanović... The instrumentalists of Il Complesso Barocco are on excellent form...

Alan Curtis directs an assured and stylish performance, thoroughly convincing in its dramatic approach. The youngish cast give strong vocal accounts of themselves, with Maite Beaumont's hard-hearted Fernando standing out, and Inga Kalna, virtuosic as the Mexican general Asprano, also catching the ear. ...for sheer quality of music and performance it gives nothing but pleasure.

[Motezuma] is excellently performed by Vito Priante...with rich and robust tones...I found [Invernizzi's] high-quality singing expressive and impressively controlled with a subtle manner of enunciation...One of the special successes of the opera’s casting is Inga Kalna...The role of Asprano is a highly impressive achievement for this thrilling Latvian soprano...Vivaldi lovers will not want to be without this beautifully performed and recorded opera.

Long considered lost, the score was rediscovered by accident in 2002 – having been looted from a Berlin choral society by the Red Army, archived in Kiev, and subsequently restored to Germany as a goodwill gesture. Alan Curtis (at the helm of Il Complesso Barocco) was a key player in the editing and reconstruction of the missing sections of the score.