Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer who was widely regarded as one of the most significant exponents of the genre of operatic realism and one of the creators of some of the best-loved operas. Richard Wagner was a German-born composer known not only for his dramatic compositions, but it is said that his artistic philosophy extended and had an enormous influence on not only his contemporaries but to other genres such as painter, playwrights, and poets. It is said that few composers had such a profound impact during their lifetime. Both Giacomo Puccini and Richard Wagner were born into a lineage of the arts with Puccini coming from a long line of church organists and composers, while Wagner was born into a family that specialized in theatrics.
