Daniel Catán: Florencia en el Amazonas (Vol 1)

I set out to write beautiful music for a story of the journey to transcendent love; it concerns all of us who have lived love with all its intricacies, subtleties, wretchedness, and glorious happiness. – Daniel Catán, composer

Houston Grand Opera presents a luminous new recording of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas, the first Spanish‑language opera commissioned by a major American company and one of the most enchanting works of late 20th‑century opera. Steeped in the atmosphere of magical realism and inspired by the world of Gabriel García Márquez, Catán’s score unfolds in waves of shimmering orchestral color, soaring lyricism, and emotional immediacy. This live recording captures the acclaimed 2019 Houston Grand Opera production, led by Patrick Summers, whose long artistic partnership with Catán brings exceptional depth and sensitivity to the work. Soprano Ana María Martínez leads the cast as Florencia Grimaldi, delivering a performance of incandescent beauty as the famous diva journeys along the Amazon in search of her long‑lost love. She is joined by an outstanding cast including Alicia Gianni, Joshua Guerrero, Norman Garrett, and Nancy Fabiola Herrera, alongside the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus. A story of love, memory and transformation, Florencia en el Amazonas has become a modern classic, beloved for its lush, melodic writing and cinematic emotional sweep. This new release on Houston Grand Opera’s record label brings Catán’s masterpiece to a global audience in a definitive performance of rare beauty and power.

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Ana María Martínez as Florencia Grimaldi Alicia Gianni as Rosalba Joshua Guerrero as Arcadio Norman Garrett as Riolobo Nancy Fabiola Herrera as Paula Thomas Glass as Alvaro David Pittsinger as Capitán Houston Grand Opera Chorus Houston Grand Opera Orchestra Patrick Summers, conductor