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 Wasps (Vaughan Williams) and is not often performed. Vaughan Williams later arranged parts of the music into an orchestral suite (about 26 minutes), in five parts: The "Overture" is quite concise (about 10 minutes) and is a popular independent concert piece today. The main theme is pentatonic. There are close to 30 recordings now available of the overture. The "March Past of the Kitchen Utensils" is also quite charming and sometimes separately performed. The entire orchestral suite is also sometimes performed and recorded. The year before he wrote "The Wasps", Vaughan Williams spent three months in Paris studying orchestration with Maurice Ravel. Although