Born in Vienna, Emil Nikolaus Freiherr von Rezniček (1860–1945) was a theatre composer, active in Graz, Berlin and Mainz, among other cities. He conducted a Prague military band and the Court Orchestra in Weimar. Among his works are several operas, orchestral works, songs and chamber music but his name is remembered today solely for his second opera, Donna Diana (1894), and, more specifically, for its brief, vivacious and superbly crafted overture.