Alzire first appeared on the stage in 1736 to great acclaim and success. Alzire is set Lima Peru at the time of the Spanish conquest. Don Gusman a Spanish grandee has just succeeded his father Don Alvarez in the Governorship of Peru. The rule of Don Alvarez had been beneficent and just; he had spent his life in endeavoring to soften the cruelty of his countrymen; and his only remaining wish was to see his son carry on the work which he had begun.