Rienzi in April/May 2009 and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Oper Leipzig in April/May 2010. In July 2013, the bicentennial year of Wagner's birth, performances of all three of Wagner's early operas, including "Rienzi", took place for the first time at Bayreuth, at the Oberfrankenhalle. This performance trimmed some parts, including the second-act ballet. The Australian premiere was a concert performance by Melbourne Opera in December 2013, as part of the bicentennial celebrations. The opera opens with a substantial overture which begins with a trumpet call (which in act 3 we learn is the war call of the Colonna family)
Aotearoa (overture) His Majesty's Theatre in London. It was not performed in New Zealand until 1959, but it has since entered the standard orchestral repertory there. Typical of Lilburn's early work, the overture features idiomatic writing for winds, especially flutes, and vigorous dynamic contrasts. At least two recordings of "Aotearoa" have been made, one of which is "Symphony of Sails" performed by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya in 2002. (Universal CD 99172) Continuum NZ, "New Zealand Composers". New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Young. Aotearoa (overture) Aotearoa is a concert overture written for orchestra by New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn in