Hess 118 – Die Weihe des Hauses, (celebratory performance) for Narrator, Soloists, Chorus, and Orchestra: Overture and Incidental Music.

For the reopening of the Josephstadt Theatre in Vienna, under the direction of Carl Friedrich Hensler, the dramatic poet Carl Meisl staged two celebratory performances: Die Weihe des Hauses and Das Bild des Fürsten. The subject of the second work, which was set to music by Joseph Drechsler, director of the Leopoldstädter Theater, is unknown and falls outside the scope of this study.

Die Weihe des Hauses consisted of a reworking of the text and music – the latter naturally composed by Beethoven – of The Ruins of Athens, a similar subject, although the locations and allegorical characters differ. In brief, Thespis, with his chariot and the attributes of stagecraft, seeks a resting place and a temple for his art. Apollo leads him to a smiling landscape on the banks of the Danube and shows him the Vienna Theatre. Datila and the Graffies enter with their retinue, and a High Priest, before an altar raised to the Tutelary Genius, consecrates the new house of art amid the rejoicing of the people.

The music reprises that of The Ruins, adapted to the new text and scenes, while also including some newly composed sections. The work was performed on October 3, 1822, and repeated several times, but has not yet been published in its entirety. The process of composition is discussed extensively by Thayer-Riemann; earlier, Nottebohm had published the complete original poetic text, providing an overview of the sequence of scenes, showing how the old music from The Ruins was adapted to them and where new pieces were introduced. This overview was later included by Hess in his catalog, with some additional clarifications.

The overture (new) corresponds to no. 1 of The Ruins of Athens, except for the text. Numbers 2 to 4 correspond to numbers 2 to 4 of The Ruins of Athens. Number 5 is a new chorus with dance. Number 6, the march and chorus, is a new version of the corresponding numbers from The Ruins of Athens, published as Op. 114. Number 7 corresponds to number 5 of The Ruins of Athens, while numbers 8 and 9 correspond to numbers 7 and 8 of The Ruins of Athens, but with new text.