Big tragic opera in five acts. Libretto of the composer.

Personages: Tail Rienzi, notary papal (tenor); Irene, his sister (soprano); (low) Stefano Colonna; Adriano, his son (mezzo-soprano); (low) Paolo Orsini; Raimondo, (low) papal legacy; Baronelli and Lisp of the Vecchio (tenor and down); Roman citizens; a messenger of peace (soprano); a herald (tenor).

Place and epoch: Rome, in the middle of the XIVth century.

The history and the English novelist Edward Bulwer Lytton called the Roman popular chief Cola di Rienzi «the last tribune», and Warner used this denomination as a subtitle of his first opera in strict sense. This one was eclipsed by his later works, but our epoch remembers occasionally her. There is warned there with clarity the artistic formation of Wagner, which comes from Spontini and Meyerbeer, but also of the first romantic Germans. It is perfectly understandable; the surprising only thing is that it could escape so quickly from these models and reach a proper, unmistakable style. Shortly after Rienzi The wandering Dutch came, and suddenly, quite in this work, the ambience, the topics, the symbols, the poetry, the music, it is already «authentically wagneriano», retrospectively speaking.

Rienzi occupied Wagner his last two years as conductor in Riga (1837-1839); first he wrote the finished libretto, then wide sketches of the first two acts. Then the "flight" came for the Baltic towards England and Paris. There it finished the work, in 1840.

The libretto describes the struggle of the popular tribune Rienzi for the victory of the right and the order in the Rome of the XVIth century. After a brilliant overture (that one usually hears often in the concerts and that develops, in accordance with the operatic use of the epoch, a selection of the most important melodies of the work: the prayer of Rienzi, a triumphal march and the magnificent anthem of combat «Saint spirito»), the curtain rises before a night scene where the aristocratic group of the Orsini tries to kidnap the sister of Rienzi, Irene. The opposite group of the Colonna comes on time to liberate the victim. The indignation grows between the people because of the increasing arbitrariness of the nobili, the noblemen or patrician ones; and they call Rienzi, the tribune, so that it puts brake to his activities. Raimondo, the papal legacy, tries to do uselessly the peaces. The people only listens to his chief, Rienzi, to whom there joins enthusiastically the son of Colonna, Adriano, although it believes a serious interior conflict. Adriano commits himself with Irene.

The second act shows the holiday in the Acropolis, in which Rienzi celebrates the victory on the noblemen, but especially the peacemaking. Also there have been invited the ex-enemies Orsini, Colonna and his followers. They feign to enter pacifically, but in fact only they look for the ideal moment to take revenge for Rienzi, the plebeian one that has broken his power. Uselessly Adriano tries to convince his father of the value of Rienzi. This one receives envoys of the whole Europe, opposite to whom it proclaims proudly the right of Rome to represent a decisive role in the election of the German emperor. Then it offers to his guests a pantomime: the Lucrecia suicide, in the ancient Rome, after having being violated by Tarquino, what in certain way was the pretext to liberate Rome of the tyranny. During the pantomime, Orsini comes closer secretly Rienzi, but his dirk cannot cross the armor of the tribune. At the same time there fail his followers, who want to assault the Acropolis. The conspirators are condemned to death, but Rienzi allows to become convinced once again for Irene and Adriano and excuses them. One feels the sufficiently strong thing to prove to be magnanimous. He is in fact a «tribune of the masses», the only title that he wants to take, after having pushed back the crown that they have offered him.

At once third, of course the most grand of the work, Rienzi calls heartily to the struggle against the patrician ones, which have concentrated on the outskirts of Rome: "Saint Spirito», a melody full of force, which the choirs formed by the people adopt and take to snatchers climaxes. It continues the scene of the battle, where Wagner, like Meyerbeer, concentrates all the masses and sonorous means available for describing the campaign of the Romans against the aristocrats. Adriano lives with opposing feelings through the battle that develops in the distance. The women of Rome put themselves of knees and pray for the victory. A warlike singing sounds, it approaches, grows in an uncontrollable way and announces the Rienzi victory. They take the injured men and the dead persons: between the above mentioned is Colonna. Adriano separates bitterly from his idol, but the exhilaration of the masses drowns his curse and the screams of pain of the defeated ones.

But the Rienzi climax has ended; in the last acts his decline is represented. The pope separates from the tribune; Adriano attributes egoistic motives to him. When Rienzi wants to enter the church of Saint John of Letrán to say a tedeum, Raimon-do, the papal legacy, it throws the anathema against him. The whole world separates from Rienzi loved earlier by the people; only Irene continues being a believer. The tribune yergue once again, indomitable: "There is still a Rome!».

The fifth act begins with the prayer of Rienzi that has become famous, a solemn melody that seems to announce the Lohengrin ambience. But the masses have separated from Rienzi definitely. They set fire to the Acropolis. Adriano throws himself to the flames to save Irene. But the building that collapses buries Rienzi and with him to the young couple.

The premiere of Rienzi, celebrated in Dresden (thanks to the Meyerbeer negotiations) on October 20, 1842, was the first Wagner victory. A new life was opened before him after the bitter years of Paris, of that interlude of six years like composer who was employed of the first conductor at the Opera of Dresden.