Chapter 17: Romantic Opera Wagner and “Music Drama”

Key Terms Music drama Gesamtkunstwerk Leitmotiv Thematic transformation Prelude Deceptive cadence

Wagner and “Music Drama” The most influential Romantic composer after Beethoven His innovations revolutionized opera and orchestral music “Complete artwork” concept “Guiding motive” (leitmotiv) technique Elaborate theories on art, music, opera Opera had degenerated from original serious drama to “concert in costume” Arias hopelessly artificial – always interrupting dramatic flow for a song

Richard Wagner (1) (1813-1883) Intellectual pursuits as a youth Literature, music, philosophy, mythology, religion Began career as an opera conductor He built his own opera house in Bayreuth Annual festival still performs only Wagner Wagner stirred enormous controversy Half visionary & half con man Highly influential in music & the other arts

The “Total Work of Art” (1) New kind of opera – the “music drama” Powerful new concept – Music shares honors with poetry, drama, & philosophy Called a “total work of art” (Gesamtkunstwerk) Wagner had total artistic control He was not merely the composer—also writer, director, producer, designer, & conductor Based on old German myths & legends They present weighty philosophical issues Use of myth as embodiment of deepest unconscious truths anticipates Freud

The “Total Work of Art” (2) New intensity of emotional expression Slow tempos suggest timelessness of myth Orchestra given new importance in opera Larger than ever – new instruments added Brass section now equal to other sections Superb orchestration provided exciting, intoxicating new tone colors Orchestra now carried the opera along No more recitatives, arias, ensembles, etc. One long orchestral web woven with singing

Leitmotivs (1) Leitmotiv = guiding, or leading, motive Motives associated with some person, thing, idea, or symbol in the drama They give thematic continuity to the unbroken orchestral web Modeled after motivic development in Beethoven’s symphonies

Leitmotivs (2) With leitmotivs & their transformations – Wagner’s orchestra can now guide the listener through the story It can tell us what the hero thinks or feels when he is saying something else It can show a person or idea changing as drama progresses Leitmotivs used widely since Wagner’s day John Williams in Star Wars or Indiana Jones

Ring of the Nibelung (1) Four-opera cycle took 27 years to finish Towering artwork comparable to the Taj Mahal, the Iliad, the Odyssey, or the Sistine Chapel Wagner’s story based on Norse myths Epic tale spans several generations With gods, dwarves, giants, dragons, water nymphs, humans, & a ring of power Tolkien drew on the same myths in writing Lord of the Rings

Ring of the Nibelung (2) Wotan, king of the gods, attains absolute power through deception & theft But he loses the Ring that will doom his family, his enemies, & his empire Music of enormous expressive range Depicts innocence, spite, rage, regret, love at first sight, passion, exuberance, & wonder Rich, vast web of leitmotivs Matched flexibly with people & events Paved the way for today’s film composers