Quantization of the Hitchin moduli spaces, Liouville theory, and the geometric Langlands correspondence I

We discuss the relation between Liouville theory and the Hitchin integrable system, which can be seen in two ways as a two step process involving quantization and hyperkaehler rotation. The modular duality of Liouville theory and the relation between Liouville theory and the SL(2)-WZNW-model give a new perspective on the geometric Langlands correspondence and on its relation to conformal field theory.