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Richard Wagner operas
Die Feen (1833)
Das Liebesverbot (1836)
Rienzi (1842)
Der fliegende Holländer (1843)
Tannhäuser (1845)
Lohengrin (1847)
Tristan und Isolde (1859)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1867)
Das Rheingold (1869)
Die Walküre (1870)
Siegfried (1871)
Götterdämmerung (1874)
Parsifal (1882)

“Rienzi” by Richard Wagner

Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes), Риенци

Premiere / date of written: 20 October 1842

“Rienzi, who I invented and portrayed myself, should be a hero in the true meaning of the word; a passionate dreamer who appears as a flashing ray of light among a fallen, decadent people - believing his true calling is to rise up and shine” Richard Wagner

Written between July 1838 and November 1840, it was first performed at the Hofoper, Dresden on October 20, 1842, and was the composer's first success.

Libretti

# Language Authors
1 German Richard Wagner
2 Russian Г. А. Лишин, 1878

original libretto
line-by-line of the original libretto

Images

Notable videos

  Richard Wagner - Rienzi Ouverture

The Symphony Orchestra of the LISZT School of Music Weimar plays the Ouverture of Richard Wagner's opera "Rienzi" at the Neue Weimarhalle on May 10th. Conductor: Professor Nicolás Pasquet.

  Richard Wagner - Rienzi Ouverture

Audio recordings

Year Cast
Conductor,
Opera chorus and orchestra
Label,
Comment
Buy
1950
Cola Rienzi, Roman Tribune — Günther Treptow,
Irene, his sister — Trude Eipperle,
Steffano Colonna, a nobleman — Helmut Fehn,
Adriano, his son — Erna Schlüter,
Paolo Orsini, another patrician — Rudolf Gonszar,
Raimondo, Papal Legate — Heinz Prybit,
Baroncelli, Roman citizen — Willy Hoffman,
Cecco del Vecchio, Roman citizen — Josef Lindlar,
The Messenger of Peace — Berta Preisker
Winfried Zillig
Sinfonieorchester des Hessischen Rundfunks
Zyx music

Running time 169 min.
Amazon.com
1976

DM's pick

Cola Rienzi, Roman Tribune — René Kollo,
Irene, his sister — Siv Wennberg,
Steffano Colonna, a nobleman — Nikolaus Hillebrand,
Adriano, his son — Janis Martin,
Paolo Orsini, another patrician — Theo Adam,
Raimondo, Papal Legate — Siegfried Vogel,
Baroncelli, Roman citizen — Peter Schreier,
Cecco del Vecchio, Roman citizen — Günther Leib,
The Messenger of Peace — Ingeborg Springer,
Ambassadors, Nobles, Priests, Monks, Soldiers, Messengers, Populace
Heinrich Hollreiser
Dresden Staatskapelle
EMI Classics

Complete recording of Wagner's shortened 1843 version. CD comes with libretto in German and English.
Amazon.com
1983
René Kollo,
Jan-Hendrik Rootering,
Cheryl Studer,
John Janssen,
Bodo Brinkmann,
Karl Helm,
Norbert Orth,
Kieth Engen
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Bavarian State Opera orchestra and chorus
Orfeo d'Oro

Amazon.com

External links