The composer of the opera “Il Postino” died in his sleep at his home in Austin. The composer’s representative also confirmed his death, saying that he wasn’t suffering from any known illnesses.

Born in Mexico City, Catán studied in Britain and later completed his music studies at Princeton University where he earned a PhD in music composition studying with Milton Babbitt.

He was the first Mexican composer to have an opera produced in the U.S. : “Rappaccini’s Daughter” which was based on the writing of Octavio Paz, at the San Diego Opera in 1994. His second opera, “Florencia en el Amazonas,” was written for Houston Grand Opera.

He lived in southern California was was teaching at U.T. Austin for a semester. The school of music had commissioned him to write an opera based on Frank Capra’s movie “Meet John Doe.”

Resources

[amazon_image id=”B001F08D9Y” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Meet John Doe [1941] [Remastered][/amazon_image]

[amazon_image id=”B00006RHPU” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Rappaccini’s Daughter / Obsidian Butterfly[/amazon_image]

[amazon_image id=”1617740306″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Il Postino: Opera Libretto English/Spanish[/amazon_image]