Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name. (The title is commonly shortened to Rienzi.) Written in 1840, it was first performed in Dresden on 20 October 1842. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... A libretto is the complete body of words used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. ... The Lord Lytton Novelist and politician Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803–January 18, 1873) was an English novelist, playwright, and politician. ... See also: 1839 in music, other events of 1840, 1841 in music and the list of years in music. Events February 11 - Gaetano Donizettis opera La Fille du Regiment premieres in Paris Robert Schumanns year of song, in which he writes the two Liederkreis, Frauenliebe und -leben and... From left to right: Brühls Terrace; the Hofkirche and the castle; the Semper Opera House. ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

The first performance was well received despite running over six hours (including intermissions). Later, Wagner experimented both with giving the opera over two evenings and making cuts for performance in a single evening.

Rienzi is Wagner's third opera, and is mostly written in a French Grand Opera style, inspired by Meyerbeer and Halévy, which seems conventional in comparison with what Wagner later wrote. For this reason, and because of the opera's sheer length, Rienzi is rarely performed today. Wagner later saw the work as an embarrassment, but it remained one of his most successful until his death. Grand Opéra is a style of opera largely characterized by many features on an excessive scale. ... Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (September 5, 1791 - May 2, 1864) was a noted opera composer. ...

The opera concerns the life of Cola di Rienzi, a medieval Italian populist figure who succeeds in outwitting and then defeating the nobles and their followers and in raising the power of the people. Magnanimous at first, he is forced by events to crush the nobles' rebellion against the people's power, but popular opinion changes and even the Church, which has earlier urged him to assert himself, turns against him. In the end the populace burns the Capitol, in which Rienzi and a few adherents have made a last stand. Cola di Rienzi (c. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...

During his young adulthood, the future Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler, witnessed a performance of Rienzi in his home town of Linz in Austria. He confided to a childhood friend, who had seen the opera with him, that "This was where it all began", meaning his plans for Germany and its people, implying that he saw himself very much in Rienzi's shoes as being the head of not just his country, but a vast empire like that of the Romans and the ancient Greeks. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nazism. ... (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ... Map of Austria, locating Linz Linz is a city and Statutarstadt in northeast Austria, on the Danube river. ...

Characters

• Cola Rienzi, Roman Tribune (tenor)
• Irene, his sister (soprano)
• Stefano Colonna, a nobleman (bass)
• Adriano, his son (mezzo-soprano)
• Paolo Orsini, another patrician (bass)
• Raimondo, Papal Legate (bass)
• Baroncelli, Roman citizen (tenor)
• Cecco del Vecchio, Roman citizen (bass)
• A Messenger of Peace (soprano)
• Ambassadors, Nobles, Priests, Monks, Soldiers, Messengers, Populace

In music, a tenor is a male singer with a high voice (although not as high as a countertenor). ... Look up Soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In music, a soprano is a singer with a voice ranging approximately from the A below middle C to high C two octaves above middle C (i. ... A basso (or bass) is a male singer who sings in the lowest vocal range of the human voice. ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that...

Recordings

Complete recordings (and performances) of Rienzi are rare, although the overture is regularly found on radio broadcasts and compilation CDs. All major recordings of Rienzi include significant cuts to the score.

• Heinrich Hollreiser conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle. Kollo, Wennberg, Martin, Adam. 1975 (EMI).
• Josef Krips conducting the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Berry, Ludwig, Pernerstorfer, Schoffler. 1960 (Melodram).

Heinrich Hollreiser, born June 24, 1913, is a German conductor of classical chamber music. ... The Dresden Staatskapelle is an orchestra based in Dresden,Germany. ... Josef Alois Krips (born 8 April 1902 in Vienna, died 13 October 1974 in Geneva) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. ... Categories: Musical group stubs | Austrian orchestras ...

External links

• Complete text of Bulwer-Lytton's Rienzi at Project Gutenberg.
• MIDI recording of the overture.

Reference

The New Kobbes Opera Book (11th edition), 1997.

External links

• Synopsis from Stanford University