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A leitmotif is a short musical pattern or theme which is associated with a particular

idea, character or place.

Leitmotifs are used in opera and film music so the audience can encode and

understand the characters’ feelings, actions and emotions.

Background to Siegfried’s Rhine Journey by Wagner

This piece of music comes from the last of Wagner’s four very big operas, all linked

together by the same story known as The Ring Cycle.

This is an EPIC musical work, consisting of about 15 hours of playing time!

The story follows the struggles of gods, heroes and mythical creatures such as giants

and dwarfs who fight for a magic ring that grants power to rule the entire world.

This particular musical excerpt is about Siegfried’s journey to the Rhine, where he

has been sent on a new adventure. Little do we know, however, that this adventure

will end with the death of Siegfried, who later on is stabbed by a warrior called

Hagen.

Who is Siegfried?

Siegfried is a mortal character in the opera, but he is the grandson of the chief of the

gods called Wotan.

Siegfried is extremely brave, fearless and adventurous – during The Ring Cycle, he

fights dragons, wins the magic ring by stabbing his enemy, and saves the life of his

lover called Brünnhilde.

Wagner uses a leitmotif to represent the bravery and fearlessness of Siegfried and to

warn the audience that he is about to get stuck in on the action and adventure!

Background to Star Wars – Imperial March

The Imperial March is a leitmotif for Darth Vader, the main villain from Star Wars.

Pieces: Siegfried’s Rhine Journey (Rheinfahrt) by Richard Wagner and Star Wars

Imperial March by John Williams



Darth Vader was once a heroic Jedi Knight, but he went over to the dark side of the

Force to help the evil Emperor destroy the Jedi Order (the light side of the Force).

The tune is often played when Darth Vader appears, or is about to appear, on

screen.

Activity 1: Exploring leitmotifs through listening

Divide into small groups and listen to the two pieces of music.

On large pieces of paper, write down your thoughts on the following questions:

What kind of visual scenes and/or characters do you imagine when you hear the music?

Why does the music make you think these things? Is it loud or quiet? Fast or slow? Are there

particular instruments you can hear which represent certain characters or feelings?

Activity 2: Deeper exploration of Siegfried’s and Darth Vadar’s leitmotifs through

performance

Teach Siegfried’s horn call and Darth Vadar’s leitmotif to the class. They can clap the

rhythms, sing the melody to ‘la’, use the lyrics below or create their own lyrics to the

melody! The main aim is to encourage them to explore how Siegfried’s leitmotif represents

his adventurousness and bravery, and Darth Vadar’s leitmotif reflects evil and power.

Siegfried’s horn call leitmotif:

Darth Vadar’s leitmotif:

Darth va - dar mar - ching by through the night

I’m go - ing on an ad - ven - ture to - day



Once students have learnt to clap, play or sing the leitmotifs, you can use them repeatedly

to build them into a musical performance. Here are some ideas on how to do this:

Layer it up – start with one student and add in others one at a time.

Come up with a signal for crescendo (getting louder) and diminuendo (getting quieter) and

add dynamics.

Nominate students to conduct a performance which brings students in and out and also

signals getting louder and quieter.

Split into small groups to develop their own performance and then share with the rest of

the class.

Activity 3: Composing a leitmotif for heroes and villains

Use the following character profiles from Wagner’s The Ring Cycle and George Lucas’ Star

Wars to compose your own leitmotifs. Split the class into small groups, pairs or individuals

and either assign them a character or ask them to choose one. Their leitmotifs can be a

melody played on any instrument (including voice), a rhythmic pattern or a mixture of the

two!

To extend this activity, the students can develop their leitmotifs into a performance using

the ideas activity 2.



Brünnhilde

In The Ring Cycle, Brünnhilde is a powerful and

brave heroine whom Seigfried falls in love with

and gives her the magic ring.

Her character is based on a valkyrie from

German mythology. Valkyries are strong warriors

who are born out of the earth and live to protect

others.

At the end of the opera, Brünnhilde takes the

ring from the evil warrior who kills Siegfried and

returns the ring to the Rhine.



Siegfried

Siegfried is a legendary hero in The Ring Cycle,

always looking for adventure.

Siegfried slays a dragon and stabs his enemy to

win the magic ring, which he gives to Brünnhilde

to swear his love to her.

In the end, however, Siegfried is murdered by an

evil warrior called Hagen.



Hagen

Hagen is an evil and cunning warrior whose

father is the chief dwarf.

Hagen desperately wants to claim the magic

ring from Siegfried, but after murdering

Siegfried, Hagen is too scared to take the ring

and ends up dying in Brünnhilde’s magic fire.



Finn

Finn was taken away from his family at a very young age to

serve the First Order as a Stormtrooper.

He was an extremely able fighter, always scoring top marks in

his cadet training.

However, after refusing to kill innocent villagers during a

mission on the desert planet Jakku, Finn escaped the First

Order to join the Resistance in fighting against the First Order.

Finn is skilful, intelligent and protective of those he cares

about.



Rey

Rey is a talented scavenger, warrior and pilot

who grew up in the wasteland of the desert

planet Jakku.

After becoming involved in the Resistance, Rey

was captured by the dark Force but she refused

to give up information about Luke Skywalker’s

whereabouts.

She escaped to the Resistance base after

beating a dark Force user in a lightsaber duel.



Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren used to be a Jedi trainee, but he joined the

dark side of the Force to become one of the Knights

of Ren.

He wanted to continue the evil work of his

grandfather, Darth Vadar by helping to destroy the

Jedi.

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by Wagner - bsolive.com to Star Wars – Imperial March The Imperial March is a leitmotif for Darth Vader, the main villain from Star Wars. Pieces: