On Friday, 17th January 2014, the year of Cultural Capital of Europe was opened by staging the opera Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes by Richard Wagner at the Latvia National Opera. During the opening, Andris Bērziņš, the State President and patron of the Cultural Capital of Europe addressed the audience. Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes is a large-scale opera staged by an outstanding creative team. The last time the opera was staged in Riga was 136 years ago – in 1878, and now the Latvian audience enjoys the first staging of this musical story.