Daniel Catan - Florencia en el Amazonas

Daniel CATAN (1949-2011)

Florencia en el Amazonas

Opera in Two Acts (1996)

Libreto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain

Patricia Schuman (Florencia) 

Mark S. Doss (Riolobo) 

Ana Maria Martinez (Rosalba) 

Suzanna Guzmán (Paula) 

Hector Vasquez (Alvaro)

Chad Shelton (Arcadio) 

Oren Gradus (Captain)

Houston Grand Opera 

Patrick Summers 

Mexican composer Daniel Catan's Florencia was an enormous hit when it was premiered in Houston in 1996, and it's easy to see why. The plot of the 99-minute opera involves a riverboat sailing up the Amazon to the opera house in Manaus. Onboard are the diva, Florencia (in disguise), who, 20 years before, left the area and Cristobal, the man she loved; a writer named Rosalba, who is writing a biography of Florencia, but does not recognize her; a middle-aged couple trying to rekindle the love they once had; and the captain, his nephew, and a mysterious river creature named Riolobo. There is a violent storm, and at the end, no one can leave the ship because there's been an outbreak of cholera in Manaus. All along, there had been tinges of mysticism, but it really takes hold in Florencia's final scene--her spirit wafts towards her long-lost love. The librettist refers to the story as "magical realism," and it's an apt description. Catan's harmonies and melodies are exquisite, the orchestration is as lush as the Rain Forest, the vocal lines singable and memorable. The entire cast is wonderful; Patricia Schumann's Florencia is particularly moving, and Mark S. Doss as the mysterious Riolobo is properly fascinating. Highly recommended.

Robert Levine

A work of great beauty and power, Daniel Catán's "Florencia en el Amazonas" is the composer's second opera. Loosely inspired by Gabriel García Márquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera," the opera follows the story of Florencia Grimaldi, an aging opera singer who embarks upon a steamboat journey down the Amazon River. As the journey progresses, the boat is beset by pink rain, foul waters, and the threat of a cholera epidemic. As Florencia and her fellow travelers are carried deeper into the jungle, they experience various revelations, until finally the diva's spirit is transformed into a vast, emerald butterfly."Florencia en el Amazonas" is, in a word, beautiful. Free from the mawkish sentimentality that too often passes for beauty in today's world of pop ballads, film scores, and Disneyfied neo-Romanticism, "Florencia" possesses the artful beauty of traditional opera; a form that, at its best, values grace, craftsmanship, and lyricism over the sugar-high of instant gratification. Comparisons with late Puccini are inevitable and certainly apt, but much of Catán's score touches upon the flowing Impressionism of Debussy and the vibrant colors of Ravel as well. It also contains some engaging touches quite compelling to the modern ear -- frequent marimbas add a slightly exotic flavor, and the percussion section underscores the music with intriguing Latin rhythms. Catán scores the opera for a relatively small orchestra, which adds a sense of precision and punch -- the strings never dominate, and each instrument is clearly articulated. The music simply shimmers, occasionally opening up into an expanse of surging sound, floating the vocals aloft on an iridescent wave of color.

Happily, Catán's vocal writing is well-matched to his orchestral fluency. Catán is a believer in old-school lyricism, and while much may be said for the astringent vocal gymnastics or Broadway influences of some modern opera, it comes as a delight to hear a work that takes pure, unadulterated pleasure in a flowing, beautiful line. Arioso blooms to aria with an unaffected grace, voices entwine around each other like lovers, and not a line feels clumsy or out of place. Still, while "Florencia's" lyricism might represent a welcome return to the Italian mode, there's really no single moment that particularly stands out. If "Florencia" has echoes of both "Turandot" and "Pelléas et Mélisande," I would have liked to hear a little more of the former than the latter, at least in the vocal writing.

But again, compared to the vibrant tapestry of the whole, this comes as only a minor quibble. "Florencia" is a wonderful work, one that deserves to find its voice through numerous productions. Its subject matter, too, is worth a few words of praise: it is a delight to see a modern opera so full of innocence and wonder; and if the soprano has to die in the end, then what's wrong with transforming into a giant butterfly? "Florencia en el Amazonas" stands as a hopeful reminder that love, faith, and beauty can be liberating powers in a world all too trapped in its own cynicism and irony.

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