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It is probably Wagner's most brilliant opera introduction: the overture to “Rienzi.” Here it is performed by the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. The performance was in honor of the 450th anniversary of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (the Saxonian Staatskapelle Dresden). It was celebrated by the renowned German orchestra with a gala concert at the Semperoper Dresden on September 22, 1998. “Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes” (WWV 49) is a tragic opera which was composed by Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883) between 1838 and 1840. It is one of Wagner's early works and is mostly written in the style of the French grand opera but also has Italian influences. It already points ahead to Wagner's romantic operas and even to his later “music dramas.” “Rienzi” premiered in Dresden in 1842 and was Wagner's first great success. The libretto is based on a novel with the same title by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803 – 1873). The story is set in late medieval Rome. Ri
