Rienzi friend Apel, who had likely first made the suggestion that Wagner compose "Rienzi", mentions a plan to perform the overture to "Rienzi" "a fortnight hence", but contains a clear indication that her husband had just been committed to a debtors' prison. The full score of "Rienzi" was completed on 19 November 1840. In 1841 Wagner moved to Meudon, just outside Paris, where the debt laws could be more easily evaded, whilst awaiting developments for "Rienzi", having already written to King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, requesting that he order a production of the work in Dresden. With the support of
The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera) The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera) The Merry Wives of Windsor (in German: Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor) is an opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal based on the play "The Merry Wives of Windsor" by William Shakespeare. The opera is a "Singspiel", containing much spoken dialogue between distinct musical numbers. The opera remains popular in Germany, and the overture is sometimes heard in concert in other countries. Otto Nicolai composed the music from 1845 to 1849. He had previously achieved great success with a few Italian operas, but this opera