Rienzi can be noted that "Rienzi" prefigures themes (brother/sister relationships, social order and revolution) to which Wagner was often to return in his later works. The success of "Rienzi" – his first real success of any kind – was crucial in Wagner's career, launching him as a composer to be reckoned with. It was followed, within months, by his appointment as Kapellmeister at the Dresden Opera (February 1843), which also gave him considerable prestige. It also received critical acclaim elsewhere in Europe. The young Eduard Hanslick, later to be one of Wagner's foremost critical adversaries, wrote in 1846 in Vienna: I
Edward German copies. German was by then in great demand to write music for plays. His commissions included Henry Arthur Jones's "The Tempter" in 1893, Johnston Forbes-Robertson's "Romeo and Juliet" at the Lyceum in 1895, Herbert Beerbohm Tree's productions of "As You Like It" (1896) and "Much Ado about Nothing" (1898), and Anthony Hope's "English Nell" (later known as "Nell Gwynn") in 1900, starring Marie Tempest. At the same time, German was writing music for the concert hall, sometimes adapting music from his theatrical scores. His "Gypsy Suite" met with success similar to that of his overture to "Richard III" and his