Alberto Franchetti (1860 – 1942). Born in Italy, the composer Alberto Franchetti spent much of his life trying to compose works that wove together the completely separate magics of Meyerbeer and Wagner. That he succeeded to any extent at all is only known because Franchetti was independently wealthy; he was thus able to finance performances of his own operas – among them Asrael and Cristoforo Colombo. Unfortunately, Franchetti’s talent seemed to wane in his later years, and his last works were not well received.