Spanish publication ÓPERA ACTUAL has announced the death of Roger Alier i Aixelà, the organization’s founder and first director. He was 82-years-old.

Born in Los Teques in Miranda, Venezuela on July 28, 1941, Alier’s family would move to Barcelona in 1951 where he would study piano at the Conservatorio del Liceu and eventually took on a career in Modern History. His 1979 thesis “Els orígens de l’òpera a Barcelona (Los orígenes de la ópera en Barcelona)” was considered a notable document to the understanding of cultural development in Catalunya.

From there, Alier would be a major contributor to the Gran Enciclopedia Catalana, Serra d’Or, La Vanguardia, and Daimon. He published biographies on Bach and Scarlatti and wrote books on the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Luciano Pavarotti, and the famed “Diccionario de la Ópera.”

In 1991, he founded ÓPERA ACTUAL. He also held tenure with the Universidad de Barcelona as a member of the Geography and History faculty.