The Artist:
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 - November 29, 1924) is regarded as one of the great operatic composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. His operas include including Madame Butterfly and La Boheme.
Info:
"E lucevan le stelle" ("And the stars were shining") is a romanza from the third act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca, composed in 1900 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is sung by Mario Cavaradossi (tenor), a painter in love with the singer Tosca, while he waits for his execution on the roof of Castel Sant'Angelo.