with a compositional style described as lush, romantic and lyrical, catán’s second opera "rappaccini’s daughter" became the first mexican opera in the united states to be produced by a professional opera company. upon receiving international recognition, catán’s next opera "florencia en el amazonas" became the first opera in spanish to be commissioned by an opera company in the united states. shortly after, catán received a plácido domingo award and a guggenheim fellowship award for his contributions to music. in 2004, catán’s opera "" was premiered by the houston grand opera. in september 2010, his opera "il postino" was premiered by the los angeles opera with plácido domingo singing as pablo neruda, a role written specifically for him. catán died while working on his next opera, "meet john doe".