Though his profile has faded dramatically over the years, Amilcare Ponchielli was regarded in his time as one of the visionaries of Italian grand opera—a master of melody and high drama who was a peer of Verdi’s and mentor to the young Puccini. Born in 1834, Ponchelli entered the Milan Conservatory as a nine-year-old and over the ensuing three decades experimented with various forms, accumulating a playful and diverse collection of organ and concert band works. In 1872, he found success as an opera composer with a revised version of the now-obscure melodrama I promessi sposi, originally written in 1856. However, it was 1876’s La Gioconda that cemented his stardom; it is remembered today primarily through the Act 3 ballet "Dance of the Hours", as featured in Walt Disney’s Fantasia. In the final decade of his life, Ponchielli became a renowned professor of composition and produced several ambitious sacred choral works before his death in 1886.