Pauline Adamek
The ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles has been reimagined to incorporate Aztec culture and language. Ingeniously adapted by playwright Evelina Fernández, we are given a completely new take on the classic drama. In the original play (first performed in ancient Athens around 441 BCE), Sophocles explores the tension between divine law and human law, individual conscience and political authority, family loyalty and civic duty, and moral conviction and the consequences of excessive pride.
For this ground-breaking interpretation, Fernández relocates Sophocles’ timeless story from ancient Thebes to pre-conquest Tenochtitlan, Mexico, with Antigone becoming Antíkona and Creon becoming Tlahtoani Klion. The production also incorporates Aztec mythology, Nahuatl language, poetry, movement, and Indigenous music.
Pre-Hispanic music is performed live throughout, accentuating the drama with its rich with unusual instrumentation that includes breathy ocarina and haunting pipes, bells and percussion. The evocative live musical score for Antigone: In the Language of Kings gives Sophocles’ ancient tragedy a vivid and contemporary pulse, complementing the powerful performances on the open-air stage. The musicians create a rich sonic landscape that moves between rhythmic intensity, ritual-like passages, as well as encompassing the more intimate, mournful moments. Essentially, the vivid score becomes another dramatic voice, building tension, reflecting grief and defiance, and helping connect the ancient story to the cultural world of this production.
Performed outdoors at the Getty Villa, the effect is particularly atmospheric: the architecture, evening air, performers, and music combine to create an immersive experience in which the boundaries between ancient drama and contemporary performance seem to disappear. This production feels driven not only by its words and characters, but by sound, rhythm, and the visceral power of live music.
Adapted from Sophocles by Evelina Fernández, this original reinterpretation enriches the ancient Greek drama with Aztec mythology, poetry, emotional intensity, granting us a truly fresh perspective. Fernández deftly balances the specific plight of our tragic heroine by highlighting the universality of the story.
Directed by José Luis Valenzuela, the elaborate production dazzles with sheer theatricality, pageantry and spectacle. With dramatic headdresses embellished with feather crowns and richly embroidered fabrics, the designers blend the grandeur of classical theater with the imagery and cultural references of Mesoamerica. Elegant textiles, earthy tones, elaborate adornments, and sculptural silhouettes give the characters an almost ceremonial presence. Magic realism flourishes are evident with the looming and fearsome figure of Death clad in billowing black silk and raven-black feathers.
The central performance by Esperanza América as Antíkona is astonishing. In what must be an emotionally grueling ordeal for the talented actress, Antíkona is forced through a moral crucible, caught between loyalty to her family and obedience to the state. América doesn’t hold back when pouring out her grief, rage and defiance, conveying the emotional weight of Antigone’s dreadful choices with heart-wrenching intensity.
Antigone: In the Language of Kings
Co-production between the Getty and LA’s longest running theater company Latino Theater Co. LTC is one of L.A.’s major enduring ensemble companies founded in the 1980s. LTC has operated continuously for more than 40 years.
Adapted from Sophocles by Evelina Fernández, associate artistic director of Latino Theater Company.
Directed by José Luis Valenzuela, artistic director of Latino Theater Company
Co-produced by Latino Theater Company
Outdoor Classical Theater at the Getty Villa Museum
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Performances: Thursday–Saturday, Sept. 10-Oct. 3, 2026
8 pm
About the production: Set in the vibrant world of pre-conquest Tenochtitlan, Mexico, this powerful reimagining of a classic tragedy confronts themes of loyalty, familial duty, and the clash between divine law and state edict. Weaving in pre-Hispanic music and poetry, this timeless story brings Aztec mythology to life in a rich historical tapestry that resonates across cultures, pitting love and defiance against tyranny.
The play will be performed in English, Spanish, and Nahuatl, with English and Spanish supertitles available throughout the performance.
Antigone: In the Language of Kings contains depictions of suicide, violence, and violent descriptions and is not recommended for persons under the age of 13.
