Alfredo Catalani

Italian operatic composer, and composition teacher. Born 19 June 1854 in Lucca, Italy (then Grand Duchy of Tuscany) - Died 7 August 1893 in Milan, Italy.
He was trained at the where, in 1886, he succeeded Amilcare Ponchielli as composition teacher. He is best remembered for his operas "Loreley" (1890) and "La Wally" (1892). "La Wally" was composed to a libretto by Luigi Illica, and features Catalani's most famous aria "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana." This aria, sung by American soprano Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, was at the heart of Jean-Jacques Beineix's 1981 film 'Diva'.