by the people on the one side and the monks in the Lateran on the
other, accompanied by an andante movement on the organ. It is
interrupted for a brief space by the ringing appeal of Rienzi
"Erstehe, hohe Roma, neu," and then closes with an energetic andante,
a quartet joining the choruses. This finale is clearly Italian in
form, and much to Wagner's subsequent disgust was described by
Hanslick as a mixture of Donizetti and Meyerbeer, and a clear presage
of the coming Verdi.

The second act opens with a stately march, introducing the messengers
of peace, who join in a chorus of greeting, followed by a second
chorus of senators and the tender of submission made by the nobles. A
terzetto between Adriano, Orsini, and Colonna, set off against a
chorus of the nobles, leads up to the finale. It opens with a joyful
chorus ("Erschallet feier Klänge"), followed by rapid dialogue between
Orsini and Colonna on the one hand and Adriano and Rienzi on the
other. A long and elaborate ballet intervenes, divided into several
numbers,--an Introduction, Pyrrhic Dance, Combat of Roman Gladiators
and Cavaliers, and the Dance of the Apotheosis, in which the Goddess
of Peace is transformed to the Goddess, protector of Rome. The scene
abruptly changes, and the act closes with a great ensemble in which
the defiance of the conspirators, the tolling of bells, the chants of
the monks, and the ferocious outcries of the people shouting for
revenge are mingled in strong contrasts.

The third act is full of tumult. After a brief prelude, amid the
ringing of bells and cries of alarm, the people gather and denounce
the treachery of the nobles, leading up to a spirited call to arms by
Rienzi ("Ihr Römer, auf"). The people respond in furious chorus, and
as the sound of the bells and battle-cries dies away Adriano enters.