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)
The Consecration of the House (overture) altered some of the musical numbers, and added others, including a final chorus with violin solo and ballet. This new overture is known as "The Consecration of the House" Overture. (The extra incidental pieces constitute the entire work.) An anecdote by Anton Schindler describes Beethoven conceiving two themes for the overture while on a walk, and relates the composer's intention of treating one of these in contrapuntal fashion after Handel. Beethoven chose a monothematic structure, in which a modulation occurs, but in which the new key features the same theme. This suggests the influence of Haydn. The overture opens with