Eugen d'Albert was born in Scotland in 1864 to an English mother and a German-born musician father. As Albert considered himself to be German, he moved at an early age to Austria, and then later to other German-speaking territories. He met Brahms and Liszt, and studied under the latter in Weimar. One of the most pre-eminent piano virtuosos of his time, he filled several important musical posts, including succeeding Richard Strauss as director of the Weimar opera house. Turning his focus to composing later on, he wrote a total of 22 operas. Tiefland (“The Lowlands”) was premiered in Prague in 1903 and is considered to be the first attempt at verismo in German opera history.