Daniel Catán has much to celebrate in 2009. Not only is his 60th birthday in April — but throughout the year he will be able to see not one, not two, but all three of his operas in new productions. A phenomenon such as this is rare for a living composer of operas. Starting off the year is Catán’s acclaimed Florencia en el Amazonas, A magical tale of romantic love in its various stages and a famed opera diva confronting her past, at the Moores Opera Center of the University of Houston (January 20-February 2). Next up is his first opera, La Hija de Rappaccini, based on the Nathanial Hawthorne story as adapted by Mexican playwright Octavio Paz, at the University of Illinois, in a production conducted by longtime collaborator Eduardo Diazmunoz (February 19-22). The European premiere of Catán’s darkly comical Salsipuedes – A Tale of Love, War and Anchovies – follows at Germany’s Theater Hagen in a new German singing translation with performances through April, May and June. Catán's highly anticipated fourth opera, Il Postino, starring Placido Domingo, premieres in 2010 at the Los Angeles Opera with great fanfare and much cause for continued celebration!
