Alfredo Catalani (1854-1893) was a talented composer who perhaps lived at the wrong time. He came along at the end of Verdi’s career and the beginning of Puccini’s, dying of tuberculosis at the early age of 39. La Wally, his most successful opera, had its first performance in 1892, at La Scala, Milan, under the direction of Arturo Toscanini, who championed the opera throughout his career. This performance features the legendary dramatic soprano Magda Olivero, who caused a sensation by singing beautifully even at an advanced age (she made her Met Opera debut at age 65, and her last opera recording at age 83), was a "mere" 62 when this remarkable live recording was made in 1972.