Daniel Catán facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Daniel Catán
Born	Daniel Catán Porteny (1949-04-03)April 3, 1949 Mexico City, Mexico
Died	April 9, 2011(2011-04-09) (aged 62) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Composer, writer, professor
Years active	1972–2011

Daniel Catán Porteny (born April 3, 1949 – died April 9, 2011) was a famous Mexican composer, writer, and professor. He was especially known for his operas, which are plays where the story is told mostly through music and singing. Catán helped bring the Spanish language into the world of opera.

His music was often described as rich, romantic, and full of emotion. His second opera, Rappaccini’s Daughter, was a big deal because it was the first Mexican opera to be performed by a professional opera company in the United States. After this, Catán gained international fame. His next opera, Florencia en el Amazonas, was the first opera in Spanish that an American opera company asked him to write.

Daniel Catán received important awards for his music, like a Plácido Domingo Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2004, his opera Salsipuedes: a Tale of Love, War and Anchovies was first performed by the Houston Grand Opera. Later, in September 2010, his opera Il Postino premiered at the Los Angeles Opera. A very famous singer named Plácido Domingo sang the role of Pablo Neruda, which Catán wrote just for him. Daniel Catán passed away while he was working on his next opera, called Meet John Doe.

Besides operas, Catán also wrote music for voices, small groups of instruments (chamber music), orchestras, and choirs. He also composed music for ballet, movies, and TV shows.

Catán's Musical Journey

Daniel Catán was born in Mexico City. He studied philosophy at the University of Sussex and music at the University of Southampton in England. He then earned a special degree called a Ph.D. from Princeton University in the U.S., where he learned from famous composers like Milton Babbitt.

Catán made history as the first Mexican composer to have an opera performed in the United States. This happened when the San Diego Opera presented his opera Rappaccini's Daughter in March 1994. His musical style is often called "neo-impressionist." This means his music is very expressive and creates vivid pictures with sounds, using beautiful melodies and rich orchestral colors.

Beyond composing, Catán was also a talented writer about music and art. In 1998, he received the Plácido Domingo Award for his important work in opera. In 2000, he was given a Guggenheim Fellowship, which is a special award that helps artists and scholars pursue their creative projects. His last complete opera, Il Postino, was based on a 1983 book called Ardiente paciencia and a 1994 movie also called Il Postino. This opera was first performed in September 2010, with Plácido Domingo singing the main role.

Daniel Catán passed away at age 62 on April 8, 2011, in Austin, Texas. He was working on a new opera called Meet John Doe for the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin at the time.

How Catán Composed Music

Daniel Catán's music style is often described as "neo-Romantic" and "lyrical." This means it's like the Romantic music of the past, full of emotion and beautiful melodies. Opera News magazine said his music had a "distinctive lushness" that sounded like great movie music but was still clearly opera.

Music critic David Patrick Stearns noted that Catán's style changed with each piece. For example, Florencia en El Amazonas (1996) used music to paint beautiful nature scenes. Salsipuedes (2004) included Cuban musical influences. And Il Postino (2010) used more connected sounds to show the characters' inner feelings. Other critics also noticed influences from composers like Richard Strauss and Heitor Villa-Lobos in how he built his orchestral pieces.

Catán himself said that he learned a lot from earlier opera composers, from Monteverdi to Alban Berg. He believed that being original in opera didn't mean ignoring the past, but rather understanding it deeply to connect the story and the music perfectly. He also mentioned that Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold were big influences on his music.

Catán's Personal Life

Daniel Catán came from a Sephardic Jewish background. He had two children with his first wife, Liza. At the time of his passing, he was living in South Pasadena, California.

Catán's Works

Ballet

• Ausencia de flores (Absence of Flowers) (1983)

Chamber and instrumental

• Quintet (1972)
• Trío (1982)
• Cuando bailas, Leonor (1984)
• Adagio (tema del amor) (1994)
• Encantamiento, for flute and harp (2003)
• Sexteto (2003-2004)
• Concertino (2005)
• Divertimento (2005)
• Amaya (2009)

Choral

• Cantata (1981)
• O, Pardon Me, Thou Bleeding Piece of Earth (2006)

Film, theater and TV

• El medallón de Mantelillos (1982)
• Antonieta: A Musical (1992-1993)
• El vuelo del águila (Don Porfirio) (1994)
• I'm Losing You (1996)

Opera

• Encuentro en el ocaso (1979)
• La hija de Rappaccini (1989)
• La hija de Rappaccini (Reduced alternate orchestration) (1989)
• Florencia en el Amazonas (1996)
• Salsipuedes: a Tale of Love, War and Anchovies (1999)
• Il Postino (2010)
• Meet John Doe (Incomplete) (2010)

Orchestral

• Hetaera Esmeralda (1975)
• El Árbol de la Vida: variaciones sinfónicas (The Tree of Life) (1980)
• En un Doblez del Tiempo (A Fold in Time) (1982)
• Tu son, tu risa, tu sonrisa (1991)
• El vuelo del águila (Don Porfirio) (The Eagle's Flight) (1994)
• Florencia en el Amazonas: Suite for Orchestra (2003)

Solo Instrument

• Variaciones para piano ca (1977)
• Encantamiento, for 2 recorders (1989)
• Vals “Don Porfirio” (1994)
• Son de Salsipuedes (1999)

Solo Voice and Piano

• “Giovanni’s Aria” (1983-1989)
• “Contristada” (1991)
• “Del Destino” (1996)
• “Duet Act I (Now that I Have Found You)” (1992-1993)
• “Comprendo” (1992-1993)
• “Nothing can go Wrong” (1992-1993)
• “Song (When I am dead)” (1992-1993)
• “There were days” (1992-1993)
• “Trust, Antonieta…” (1992-1993)
• “You that think love…” (1992-1993)
• “Hail the World’s Soul and Mine!” (Undated)

Soloist and Orchestra

• Ocaso de medianoche (1977)
• Mariposa de obsidiana (1984)
• Terra Final (1985)
• Caribbean Airs (2007)

Books

• Partitura inacabada (1989)

See also

In Spanish: Daniel Catán para niños

• Los Cinco