CHAPTER 41
Total Art: Wagner and German Romantic Opera
OVERVIEW
The chapter discusses the German Romantic opera tradition, focusing on the music dramas of
Richard Wagner. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) from his Ring cycle illustrates Wagner’s visionary
type of music drama.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand Wagner’s music dramas in the context of earlier German opera traditions
2. To understand the important role of leitmotifs in the musical language of Wagner’s music
dramas
3. To recognize Wagner’s Valkyrie from the Ring cycle as a representative example of the
composer’s revolutionary style of music drama
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Play excerpts from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and Weber’s Der
Freischütz (The Marksman) for students, to illustrate the earlier German musical traditions
of the Singspiel and the melodrama, respectively. (The famous “Wolf’s Glen” scene from
the second act of Der Freischütz is a notable example of melodrama). Ask students to
identify the role that music and text play in each of these traditions and styles.
2. Share with your class Wagner’s own ideas about endless melody and the dissolution of
standard operatic forms. One example comes from his essay “A Communication to My
Friends,” written in 1851, just as he was starting work on the Ring cycle: “As I drafted my
scenes, I was not in the least constrained, by the nature of the material thus conceived, to
have a care for any particular musical form in advance, for the scenes themselves dictated
the musical working out as intrinsic and necessary to them.” (From Piero Weiss and Richard
Taruskin, Music in the Western World [Belmont, CA: Thomson-Schirmer, 2008], p. 320)
3. Start a dialogue with the class about Wagner’s opposition to conventional operatic forms
(arias, recitative, duets, ensembles, etc.). How does one explain, in Wagner’s view, the
incompatibility of the scenes themselves with traditional operatic forms? Do traditional
formal structures such as recitative and aria limit the dramatic impact of opera and other
forms of music theater? Play an excerpt from another of Wagner’s operas (after 1851) to
contextualize the discussion.
4. Chances are your class is already familiar with the technique of leitmotif through film and
video game scores and soundtracks. Show your class a few scenes from Star Wars that
incorporate leitmotif (Vader’s “Imperial March,” Anakin and Padme’s “Love Theme” from
Attack of the Clones, etc.). Ask the class to define the meaning and associations of the
motives. Repeat this activity with the Act III finale of Wagner’s Valkyrie (“magic fire,”
“magic sleep,” “slumber,” “Siegfried,” etc.).
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
1. Compare the approaches of Verdi and Wagner to composing music drama. How would you
describe the musical and dramatic styles of these two composers? How does each composer
reflect the spirit of Romanticism?
2. Considering the social and political impact of opera on nineteenth-century audiences, what
social and political messages or ideologies are being communicated to audiences of
Wagner’s Ring cycle, and The Valkyrie in particular? What kind of sociopolitical meaning
does The Valkyrie have for today’s audiences?
3. As the textbook notes, Wagner believed that the Gesamtkunstwerk—the fusion of music,
poetry, drama, and staging/scenery into one total artwork—is the only way to create true
drama. After reading his quote on the subject again (see “In His Own Words” on p. 227 of
the textbook), how well do you think The Valkyrie reflects Wagner’s aesthetic credo? Do
you think it succeeds over previous operas we’ve studied as delivering the most dramatic
impact? Why or why not?
TEACHING CHALLENGES
When going over the leitmotifs in Act III of Die Walküre, be aware that some of the motives
may be difficult to hear in the more densely orchestrated and polyphonic passages. It may help
to isolate the motives by playing them in isolation on a keyboard before having students listen
to the recording.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
Wagner: Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kitcher, Philip, and Richard Schacht. Finding an Ending: Reflections on Wagner’s Ring. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Intended for a general audience, this book explores
the Ring cycle and the philosophical questions and issues it raises. It also features a
succinct synopsis of the Ring and background on Wagner’s philosophical outlook.
Wagner, Richard. Opera and Drama (1851). Translated by W. Ashton Ellis. Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press, 1995. In this famous essay, Wagner elaborates on the genesis and
undertaking of his groundbreaking approach to music drama.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Total Art: Wagner and German Romantic Opera (Chapter 41)
I. Wagner and German Musical Theater
A. Nineteenth-century Germany: no long-established opera tradition
1. Singspiel: predecessor of German Romantic opera
a. light, comic drama with spoken dialogue
2. early 1800s melodrama: German musical theater
a. spoken dialogue, minimal singing
b. striking orchestral accompaniment
B. Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
1. composer, conductor; born in Leipzig, Germany
2. greatest figure in German opera
3. age 23 began serious composition
4. wrote own librettos unifying music and drama
5. 1849 failed revolution in Dresden, fled to Switzerland
6. Festival Theater at Bayreuth: built for performance of Wagner’s works
a. support and admiration of Ludwig II of Bavaria
b. Ring premiered 1874, worshipful audiences
7. married Franz Liszt’s daughter, Cosima
8. output: 13 operas (music dramas), orchestral music, piano music, writings about
music
C. Wagner’s music
1. Gesamtkunstwerk: “total artwork”
a. music, poetry, drama, visual: fused to make music drama
b. subjects from medieval German epics
c. “endless melody,” natural inflections of German language
d. nature, supernatural, glorified German land and people
2. leitmotif “leading motives”: concise recurring themes
a. orchestra is focal point
b. specific meanings: person, emotion, idea, object
c. continual transformation, trace course of drama
3. chromatic harmony, dissonance: unstable pitch combinations
a. restless, intensely emotional quality
D. The Ring of the Nibelung
1. cycle of four music dramas: integration of theater and music
2. performed in four consecutive evenings
3. story adapted from Norse sagas and medieval German epic poem, Nibelungenlied
4. cycle follows possession of the ring
a. betrayal of love, broken promises, magic spells, corruption, lust for power
b. gold in Rhine River guarded by Rhine Maidens
c. Alberich the Nibelung steals the treasure, forges ring
d. Wotan tricks Alberich out of the ring
e. Alberich curses the ring: death and misfortune to those who possess it
f. ring returned to Rhine Maidens
E. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)
1. second work in Ring cycle
2. main characters
a. Wotan: father of the gods
b. Siegmund and Sieglinde: twin brother and sister, Wotan’s mortal offspring
c. Hunding: chieftain, married to Sieglinde
d. Valkyries: nine daughters of Wotan
i. circle battlefield on winged horses, carry fallen heroes to Valhalla
e. Brünnhilde: a Valkyrie
f. Siegfried: yet-unborn son of Sieglinde
3. plot summary:
a. revolves around Siegmund and Sieglinde: incestuous, adulterous relationship
b. Hunding challenges Siegmund to battle
c. Wotan acknowledges Siegmund must die in battle
d. Brünnhilde disobeys Wotan, shields Siegmund
e. Wotan appears, Hunding kills Siegmund
f. Brünnhilde carries Sieglinde to Valhalla
g. Brünnhilde, punished by Wotan, becomes mortal
h. Brünnhilde put to sleep on a rock surrounded by magic fire
F. Listening Guide 30: Wagner, Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Act III, Opening and Finale
(1856)
1. Act III, Scene 1: Ride of the Valkyries
a. swirling strings and woodwinds
b. “Ride” leitmotif: lively, dotted rhythm; ascends, repeats
c. battle cries from soloists: “Hojoho! Heiaha!”
e. huge dynamic contrasts
f. huge orchestra, huge and varied brass section
g. dense orchestral texture
2. Act III, Closing of Scene 3: Wotan and Brünnhilde
a. three recurring leitmotifs; endless melody
b. rich, chromatic harmony
c. forceful trombone passage; Wotan invokes Loge (god of Fire)
d. “magic fire,” full orchestra
e. “magic sleep,” descending chromatic woodwinds
f. “slumber” motive: woodwinds
g. Wotan sings to “Siegfried” motive (next in the cycle)
h. brass, ff announcement of “Siegfried” motive
i. long orchestral closing