Richard Wagner: Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes

A Bayreuth debut by Dr. Markus Kiesel: "Ah yes, the Rienzi! – I would gladly bring it," said Siegfried Wagner in 1930. But it will not be until 2026 that the Bayreuth Festival will include Rienzi in its program. Since the winter of 2023/24, the Heidelberg musicologist Dr. Markus Kiesel has been working on a version for this premiere at the Bayreuth Festival House, commissioned by Katharina Wagner, which attempts to shape this "material battle" (L. Finscher). The lecture aims to explore this genre-historical hybrid more closely. What models inspired Wagner? What strategies did Wagner pursue in the conception and composition? What did Wagner compose, and what did he have in mind? What layers of tradition exist, and how does the history of reception present itself – aside from the two "dynastic" versions (Cosima Wagner, 1888/1893; Wieland Wagner, 1957)? What would constitute a "valid" version – also for Bayreuth 2026?