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) body of the overture, but which instead gives way to a sonata-allegro form. The trumpets and drums resume, leading to an interlude connecting finally with the body of the overture: a fugal "Allegro" (referred to by Schindler) at the work's centre, in both single and double counterpoint. Different groups of instruments enter in turn, producing a fugal texture. The theme appears in the first violins, flute, and oboe, and a counter theme in the second violins and clarinets. This section crescendos rapidly, and – following the recapitulation – a forceful coda brings the overture to a brilliant close. The overture