HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE

Background
Motivation
Use of Leitmotifs
Instrumental Tone Color

Background:

Siegfried is the third opera in Richard Wagner’s 4-part saga known as Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelungs). While knowledge of the first two operas, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, is helpful in following the events and characters in this opera, Siegfried can be approached as a free-standing entity on its own.


Motivation:

Write the word “Hero” on the board. Ask the students to list as many heroes as they can, past and present, from different walks of life: sports, entertainment, political figures and even personal heroes from their family and friends. After the list is constructed, the discussion should lead to what qualities and characteristics make a hero. What special accomplishments are necessary to be classified a hero? Does a particular trait or feat make a hero? There is no one correct answer, but this should be a stimulus for discussion. This relates to the title character of this opera. Siegfried is a hero because he has never known fear. He slays a dragon and walks through fire to claim his bride. Siegfried is able to take superhuman chances because he has never known fear. Discuss with the students the danger of taking unrealistic chances because a person thinks he/she might be invincible and can suffer no adverse consequences.


Use of Leitmotifs:

Wagner developed the use of leitmotifs (leading motifs) to represent characters, objects, places and specific emotions. These are melodies, short phrases, and sometimes just rhythms which are used again and again throughout the opera to either musically emphasize something or someone in the visual forefront, or sometimes to subtly remind the listener of something that already occurred, or perhaps to hint of something yet to come. Many times these leitmotifs are altered or transformed to show a change of emotion or a subtle shift of characterization. Sometimes he combines two of these leitmotifs at the same time, especially when they complement each other, such as “Hero” and “Sword.” Many of the leitmotifs used in Siegfried, especially early in the opera, have been used before in the previous two operas in the Ring. Even so, Siegfried will here be treated as an entity on its own, and the important leitmotifs which occur in this opera, even though they have been previously heard in Das Rheingold or Die Walküre, will be listed here in a fresh numeration. (It is suggested that some of the key leitmotifs illustrated in the enclosed musical examples be played for the class a few times before they hear the opera so they can become familiar with them. Then play them in a jumbled order to see whether they can identify them. When that occurs, these leitmotifs can be a musical road map to the characters, action and emotions of the opera.)

The action in Siegfried takes place at least 20 years after the end of Die Walküre. Sieglinde died giving birth to Siegfried in the forest. Brünnhilde was left sleeping on a rock surrounded by a ring of fire that only a hero who knows no fear could penetrate. Siegfried was found by the dwarf Mime, the smith from Nibelheim—the underworld realm in Das Rheingold—and has never met another human being in his life. Mime’s- goal in nurturing Siegfried is for him to be able to forge the shattered sword Nothung and with that sword to slay the dragon Fafner—the giant who killed Fasolt in Das Rheingold and turned himself into a dragon to guard the horde of gold and the Ring.

Over a tremolo roll in the timpani we heard the motif of a descending 7th played in harmony by two bassoons (Ex. #1).

It is known as “Reflection” and it reveals what is in the mind of Mime, namely, how to gain possession of the Ring and rule the world with it. His thoughts are fixed on the hoard of gold which is hidden in a cave deep in the forest and guarded by a fierce dragon. The bassoons and the bass tuba play this very low, slowly rising motif (Ex. #2).



Emerging from the depths comes one of the most oft-used motifs in this opera, representing the hammering of the smiths, especially Mime (Ex. #3).



The rhythm of this hammering becomes almost hypnotic with its incessant repetitions. Soon the descending, almost moaning motive of “Servitude” combines with the “Smith” motif (Ex. #4).



This “Servitude” motif, preceded by grace notes, was first heard in Das Rheingold to represent Alberich’s mastery over the race of the Nibelungs and eventually Alberich’s servitude to Wotan when he tricked him into giving up the Ring. Soon Mime’s thoughts turn to this infamous “Ring” as its motive as its motif is played, first by two clarinets and then by the bassoons and English horn (Ex. #5).



Mime’s obsessive goal is to possess that “Ring” and he will need a stronger man than he and a stronger weapon than any he has ever succeeded in making. The entry of the “Sword” motif in the bass trumpet tells us what that weapon will be (Ex. #6). (All of these motifs have occurred in the brooding Prelude, before the curtain has even opened.)



Act I begins with Mime’s hammering (#3) to the “Smith” rhythm. He is trying to forge a sword strong enough so that Siegfried can slay the dragon, but for every sword he has forged thus far, Siegfried has been able to break like a toothpick. The “Sword” motif (#6) is played as he muses, “Could I but shape the weapon…” The “Reflection” motif (#1) repeats as Mime sits back in contemplation and thinks of the dragon as we hear its motif for the first time played in the deepest recesses of the orchestra, the bass tuba and contrabass tuba (Ex. #7). (Its rising and falling minor 2nds uncannily resemble the motif used for another monster, the shark, in the 1970’s movie Jaws).



It is now time to meet the hero of our story, Siegfried. He enters with a wild bear in tow, to a motif which will be known as the “Young Siegfried” for the next two operas (Ex. #8). It starts in the violins, is joined by the violas and cellos and then the flutes and oboes. Siegfried joins in merrily, carrying the motif exuberantly up to a high C.



Up to this time, the entire opera has been in a triple meter or a compound meter of 6/8. As Siegfried smashes Mime’s attempt at a sword against the anvil, breaking it into splinters, he rages against the dwarf to a motif in duple time known as “Youthful Impetuosity” (Ex. #9).



To a rhythmic modification of #3, the “Smith” motif, Mime tries sarcastically to cajole him into gratitude saying “you should be obedient to Mime, who always thinks only of you” (Ex. #10). Note the 2/4 duple meter here as opposed to the 6/8 triple meter in #8.



Siegfried asks Mime rhetorically, “How come I ever return? All the beasts to me are dearer than you; trees and birds and the fish in the brook, truly I love them far better than you.” A new motif of great beauty, “Love,” wells up in the cellos, divided into groups of three (Ex. # 11).



This is the first lyrical moment in the opera. Mime answers him that young ones are ever longing after their parents’ nest and that this longing is called “love.” This leads Siegfried to ask the inevitable question of Mime, “Where is your wife, that I may call her mother?” Mime answers that he is both father and mother to him, but Seigfried does not buy that. He says he has seen his reflection in a clear brook—we now hear the famous “Hero” motif (Ex. #12)—and he does not look at all like Mime.



Desperate to learn who his real mother and father are, he springs upon Mime and seizes him by the throat. He releases him only when he promises to tell the truth. Mime then admits that he is not his father, but that Siegfried owes him his life for nurturing him since he was a baby. As Mime begins to tell the story of how he found him, the motif of “Volsung Woe”—the Volsungs were the race of Siegfried’s family—is heard (Ex. #13).



He goes on to describe how he found him shortly after his mother Sieglinde gave birth to him in the forest and tried to help her during her difficult labor—the “Love” music of Siegmund and Sieglinde, heard prominently in Act I of Die Walküre reminds us of the scene when his parents fell in love (Ex. #14).



He concludes his tale by saying that his mother died giving birth to him. When Mime says, “She died, but but Siegfried came to life,” the “Hero” motif (#12) wells up again in the background. Siegfried is skeptical and does not believe Mime’s story. He wants proof. Mime then shows him the pieces of the broken sword Nothung (#6—“Sword” motif) which Sieglinde was carrying after Siegmund was slain. Soon we hear a merger of the “Sword” motif (#6) with the “Young Siegfried” motif (#8), symbolizing the connection between the old and now the new possessor of the sword (Ex. #15).



With an insistent repetition of “Youthful Impetuosity” (#9), Siegfried bids Mime to get to work to forge the sword. He then describes all that he would do with such a sword as he rushes joyously off into the forest. A new motif, which can be called “Siegfried’s Journey,” and which will become an important motif in the next opera Götterdämmerung is heard (Ex. #16). It is full of energy, with an upward sweep, and countered by a contrapuntally descending line in the bass, each measure starting one note higher than the one before.



A new character now enters the scene. He is called the “Wanderer,” but he is really Wotan, king of the gods, disguised as a distinguished old gentleman with his all-important prop of a large staff. What now ensues is a battle of wits between him and Mime. The Wanderer invites Mime to ask him three questions. If he fails on any one, Mime can have his head. This agreement is marked by the “Treaty” motif (Ex. #17).



It is a bold, scale-wise descending melody which had been prominent in the first two operas and will repeat many times to come. The questions are:
1. What race dwells in earth’s deep caverns? Answer: the Nibelung race. (Motif #3— “Nibelung Smiths”—deep in the bass) as Mime describes how Alberich ruled them with a magic ring—“Ring” motif (#5).
2. What race dwells on earth’s surface? Answer: the Giants as their powerfully rhythmic motif—heard earlier in Das Rheingold—resounds (Ex. #18).



Wotan then describes how the giant Fafner, now in the form of a dragon—“Dragon” motif (#7)—now guards the Ring.
3. What race dwells on cloud-covered heights? Answer: the gods and that Wotan rules the world with his spear, as the “Valhalla” motif (Ex. #19)—also first heard in Das Rheingold—resounds, followed immediately by the bold, descending “Treaty” motif (#17).



Mime’s neck has been saved.

Now it is the Wanderer’s turn to ask Mime three questions, with the same consequences if he fails.
1. What is the race that Wotan treated harshly yet holds so dear? Answer: the Volsungs as the motif of the “Volsung Race” (#20) is heard. Mime answers correctly, as he knows all about Siegmund and Sieglinde and that they are the parents of Siegfried.



2. In order to slay the dragon that is guarding the Ring (#7), what sword will be used? Answer: Nothung--”Sword” motif (#6).
3. Who will fashion Nothung out of its shattered pieces? Now Mime gets alarmed as this questions deals with the future. All the others were known facts. Mime does not answer but the music tells us—(the “Hero” motif (#12) and “Siegfried’s Impetuosity” (#9) makes it quite obvious. Mime is now frightened and agitated and he is full of terror for he really knows the answer, but will not admit it. The Wanderer gives him the answer, “He who knows no fear shall forge Nothung and slay Fafner” (#7).
Even though the Wanderer can claim Mime’s head for failing to answer all three questions he declines, and to the “Hero’s” motif (#12) he gives Mime a warning saying that his head is now in the hero’s hands.

Siegfried returns from the forest to his “Journey” music (#16). Mime realizes he has never taught fear to Siegfried, and Mime tries very hard to conjure up fearful images before him by describing a dark forest filled with horrors and terrors. Siegfried says that those images sound wonderful, but he asks Mime to teach him fear. Mime says he will show him fear if he follows him to the lair of Fafner the “Dragon” (#7), but first the sword must be forged. Since Mime could not do it, Siegfried will undertake the task himself—“Sword” motif (#6). To a new and powerful rhythm (Ex. #21), a transformation of the “Young Siegfried” motif (#8), Siegfried piles up charcoal on the hearth, builds a fire and puts the pieces of the sword in a vise and files them down to dust.



He puts this into a large crucible which he places on the fire. Siegfried asks Mime what is the name of the sword. “Nothung,” Mime replies, and the “Forging Song” begins.

Beginning with “Nothung, Nothung, Neidliches Schwert! ” (“Nothung, Nothung, invincible sword”), Siegmund launches into this “aria” with all his might. Example #22, with its descending 4th serves as the four measure introduction to this “aria” and recurs throughout the scene.



When Siegfried begins to sing, the interval becomes a descending octave (Ex. #23).



The accompaniment in the orchestra, with its trills and runs, seems to belch fire. An energetic new “Forging” motif pounds out in the orchestra when Siegfried takes the mold from the fire, breaks it, and lays the hot steel on the anvil (Ex. #24).



During this segment he strikes blow after blow on the anvil with his hammer at specifically designated beats indicated precisely in the score by Wagner. When the blade is ready, he plunges it into cold water and affixes the hilt to it. As tension mounts in the repetitive rhythms of the orchestra, he grasps the completed sword to an augmentation (lengthening of the note values) of the “Nothung” motif (#23). With a final “Nothung,” heretofore always in the minor, is this time sung in the bright major with an electrifying effect. He strikes the anvil with the completed sword—“Sword” motif (#6)—breaking it in two, and with a variation of #15 the music soars to new heights as Mime cowers in terror while Siegfried brandishes the sword on high in exultation.

The Prelude to Act II gives us a preview of what the main focus of this act will be, namely the Dragon and Siegfried’s confrontation with it. The Dragon is of course, Fafner the Giant, transformed into this form by means of a magic helmet known as the Tarnhelm. Wagner reminds us of his “Giant” origin by giving us the motif of the “Giants” (#18) but instead of its usual interval of a descending 4th, Wagner distorts this interval to an augmented 4th, a half step wider, as the Giant is now grotesquely a new creature. This altered “Giant” motive alternates with the “Dragon” motif (#7), representing his new persona. Soon the “Ring” motif (#5) pierces through the gloomy bass texture, for it is after all the Ring which the Dragon is guarding. As the Prelude continues, the motif represented “The Curse” of the Ring—which Alberich placed upon anyone who possesses it and which foretold of dire consequences to its subsequent owners—is played by the trombones (Ex. #25). The altered “Giants” motif sounds out in counterpoint to “Servitude” (#4).



In the opening scene of the act, Alberich is seen hovering near the cave where Fafner dwells, determined to figure out a way to regain the Ring. The Wanderer confronts him and says that he no longer desires the Ring, that he is only an observer of destiny. He warns Alberich that he should fear his brother Mime who brings a fearless young man with him to slay Fafner. They awaken the sleeping Dragon to warn him of approaching danger and urge him to surrender the Ring, but Fafner only mutters that he will make a meal of anyone who tries to attack him.

Enter Mime and Siegfried. Mime has brought Siegfried to show him the Dragon’s lair. Siegfried dismisses him and stretches out on the ground to rest for awhile. Now comes the segment known as the “Waldweben” (“Forest Murmers”), a beautiful pastoral episode which evokes nature’s beauty and calm. This begins with soft wavy murmurings in the cellos (Ex. #26).



He begins to wonder again who is mother was (“Volsung’s Woe”—#13). He asks, “Must all mothers perish when their children come into the world?” As the cellos reminisce with the “Love” theme of #11, he expresses the wish to gaze upon his mother. Soon a series of bird calls appear, first in the oboe and flute (Ex. #27A), then the clarinet (Ex. #27B) and the oboe again (Ex. #27C), and again the clarinet (Ex. #27D).









Siegfried wants to understand what the birds are singing. He tries to speak their language by cutting off a reed and blowing through it. A squawky English horn makes these feeble sounds as the bird calls of #27 continue. Then he has an idea. He takes out his horn and blows his famous “Youthful Siegfried” theme (#8)—actually played by the French horn, and the “Hero” theme (#12), but it doesn’t seem to communicate. However it does begin to stir the sleeping Fafner. But Siegfried is not frightened. In fact, he considers the Dragon something lovely. The Dragon, taunted by Siegfried, now attacks him as their two themes (“Dragon”—#6) and (“Youthful Siegfried”—#8) resound in counterpoint. First Siegfried wounds him in the tail, but as the Dragon rises up to devour his enemy, Siegfried thrusts the sword deeply into his heart. The musical themes struggle with each other for supremacy and a great deal of noise is made, but before long the themes of “Youthful Siegfried” (#8) and the “Sword” (#6) prevail. In Fafner’s dying throes we hear the “Curse” motif (#25) as the Ring has claimed yet another victim, followed by that of the “Hero” (#12). In his last breath Fafner warns Seigfried that he is now doomed too (#25). We hear the “Giants” motif (#18) for the last time, in its altered form, dying out to just a whimpering rhythm before it disappears altogether.

As Siegfried withdraws the sword from the Dragon’s heart, he gets a bit of blood on his fingers and puts them to his mouth to wipe it off. Suddenly the Forest Bird appears again to #27A. The blood has allowed him now to comprehend the bird. She tells him, now in words (#27C), about the Ring which would make him ruler of the world.

The two dwarfs, Alberich and Mime, have been watching the battle between Siegfried and the Dragon on the side, and they begin to quarrel and bicker with each other. Siegfried now comes out of the cave saying he was never afraid at all. The “Forest Murmers” resume and the Forest Bird now warns Siegfried of Mime’s treachery—“Volsung’s Woe” (#13). Mime is preparing a flask for Siegfried to drink, claiming it is a refreshing drink to reward him for slaying the Dragon, but is in reality a sleeping draught. But because of the Forest Bird’s warning, Siegfried sees through the ruse and immediately stabs Mime to death. The “Curse” motif (#25) has claimed yet another victim. He puts Mime’s body in the cave and the dead Fafner in front of the entrance to conceal it.

Now Siegfried feels really alone. He has no mother, no father, no brother or sister, and he was forced to slay his only companion Mime. He feels truly isolated. We hear for the first time a restless, longing motif (#28).



It is an impetuous, downward moving theme with a series of repetitive sequences, each starting higher than the one before. He desperately wants the Forest Bird to appear again, to find him a friend and soon she does appear. She says that she knows a glorious bride for him, Brünnhilde, sleeping on a rock and surrounded by a protective fire. Siegfried is ecstatic with joy. The Forest Bird says that only he who has known no fear can break through the fire to reach Brünnhilde. If he would only follow her, she will show him the way as “Restless Longing” (#28) and the bird calls (#27) conclude the second act. In the Prelude to Act III we hear a new motif which foreshadows the “Twilight of the Gods” (Ex. #29).



It is a dotted rhythm which rises and falls, rises and falls, each time soaring to new heights. The Wanderer (Wotan) calls upon Erda, the goddess of the earth to aid him once more with her wisdom. She advises him to go to the Norns, the weavers of fate—who will be prominent in the Prologue to Götterdämmerung—to give him advice. Wotan by now is completely resigned to the ultimate destruction of the gods and that his power will be inherited by Siegfried who will soon awaken the sleeping Brünnhilde. And when Brünnhilde awakes, she will perform a great deed for redeeming the world.

There is a final confrontation between Siegfried and Wotan. Wotan tells Siegfried that is was he who put Brünnhilde to sleep and therefore Siegfried assumes he is his enemy. Wotan puts up his spear to bar Siegfried’s path, but Siegfried shatters it with one stroke of his sword as the “Treaty” motif resounds (#17). Upon its repetition it becomes fragmented like the staff and dies out completely, symbolizing the waning of Wotan’s godly powers. Siegfried is now free to proceed towards Brünnhilde unimpeded.

Siegfried puts his horn to his lips (#8) and then the “Hero” motif (#12) and plunges into the fire which has wafted down from the rock upon which Brünnhilde sleeps. During the orchestral transition into the final scene we hear the motifs of “Fire” (Ex. #30) and of “Slumber” (Ex. #31) which played such a prominent role at the end of Die Walküre as the fire welled up to surround and protect Brünnhilde.





After the smoke and the flames clear, Siegfried recognizes a figure asleep on the rocks, assuming at first that it is a man. After he removes the armor, helmet and breastplate, he realizes she must be a woman. He had never before seen a woman in his entire life. He finally summons up the courage to plant a kiss upon Brünnhilde’s mouth. A magical moment of orchestral tone painting occurs as she gradually awakens. An E minor chord in the woodwinds followed by a wave of C major arpeggios played by six harps then trills in the violins uppermost register signifies Brünnhilde’s awakening. (This same music will occur again in Götterdämmerung after Siegfried is fatally wounded in the last act.) The chord progression is now repeated, this time from E minor to D minor and similar harp arpeggios and violin trills. After the third E minor chord, a motif representing Brünnhilde’s “Awakening” soars out majestically in the violins and upper woodwinds (Ex. #32).



After the fourth E minor chord, the C major harp arpeggios accompany Brünnhilde’s paean to the sun and light, “Heil dir, Sonne! ” (“Hail to the sun!”). In a overlapping duet—only the second duet in the entire Ring, after that of Seigmund and Sieglinde, and they hardly sang simultaneously—they both praise the mother who gave birth to him. A swirl of orchestral color leads to “Rapture of Love” (Ex. #33) as Brünnhilde sings praises to Siegfried who awakened her to life once again.



Brünnhilde, however, has mixed feelings to this turn of events. On the one hand she is glad to be awakened from her long slumber, but sad that she will no longer be immortal, just an ordinary human.

An idyllic motif—which became the main them of Wagner’s concert piece Siegfried Idyll—is played in E major as she looks with tenderness upon Siegfried, then sung by Brünnhilde in its parallel E minor (Ex. #34).



She proclaims him the “Highest hero of the world, life of the life of things, laughter and joy.” By now this theme returns to its bright major key. She feels she is unworthy of such a hero, but Siegfried passionately pleads his love She asks if he fears her and he replies, “No.” As she becomes more passionate, her old Valkyrie theme resounds (Ex. #35) and that merges into the “Hero” theme (#12) accompanied by wild, swirling string figures.



Joyously and with laughter, she declares that she loves him. A final new theme (Ex. #36), known as “Love’s Resolution,” is the backbone for the final, overlapping, ecstatic duet as Siegfried and Brünnhilde join their voices passionately, even in thoughts of fate and death.




Instrumental Tone Color:

In general, with a few exceptions, the overall tone color in Siegfried is dark. For one thing, there are only three female voices in the entire opera. Brünnhilde appears only in the last scene, Erda appears briefly earlier in the act, and there is the chirpy voice of the Forest Bird.

In much of Act I, the orchestral writing has a somber color, even though some of the passages may have a fast rhythm which depicts the youthful Siegfried. The violins are often omitted, thereby making the darker viola the uppermost voice of the string section and is often used to characterize the scheming Mime. For example, in the riddle scene between the Wanderer and Mime, when it is Mime’s turn to answer the questions, the violas dominate the orchestra texture.

The theme which represents Fafner the Dragon, earlier illustrated in example #7, is played in the deepest register of the tubas. When the Wanderer appears, his music is slower and more stately than the sly Mime. French horn and cellos often provide the background coloration for his god-like character.

The forging of the sword near the end of Act I has a weightiness to it to depict the sheer physical energy that Siegfried has to exert for this task. The chords are heavy, brassy and bass-heavy and the trilling low strings adds even more weight to the texture.

The Prelude to Act II maintains this dark instrumental color as we are now near the Dragon’s lair. Only the “Forest Murmers” with its sunlit atmosphere and chirping birds breathes some bright light, literally and figuratively. However, the scene becomes more somber again during the fight to the death between Siegfried and the Dragon. The light texture resumes again near the end of the act when the Forest Bird shows Siegfried the way to the mountain where Brünnhilde is sleeping.

During the brief scene between the dwarf brothers, Alberich and Mime, the prominent orchestral instruments are clarinets, bass clarinets and bassoon.

In the first scene of Act III, between Siegfried and the Wanderer, Wagner shows the latter’s anger with trumpets and trombones, and there is even a call for a thunder machine during the storm which rages around them.

For the transition into the final scene Wagner reserved his most colorful palette. After Siegfried has shattered the Wanderer’s spear and begins to ascend the mountain to Brünnhilde, eight French horns give out with the motif of “Youthful Siegfried” (#8) while the trumpets and trombones peal forth with the “Hero” motif (#12). All the while the “Fire” music (#30) is blazing within the orchestral fabric as well.

Brünnhilde’s awakening music with the violins in its highest register is startling because for the first two and a half acts of the opera we have heard nothing like it. Its high-pitched trills and arpeggiated harp figures, with very little bass support, convey the images of height, stillness and purity. It is the exact opposite of that which has permeated the orchestral texture for most of the opera to that point. And when Brünnhilde finally gives out with her praise to the sun and to the light, a new radiance glows for the first time in the opera. The final rapturous duet in the triumphant key of C major brings the opera to a close in a splash of bright color. We have traversed a long journey from the primeval darkness of the opening to the cloudless brilliance at the end.