Sounding Libretto – Rheingold

Wagner's operatic work holds many musical secrets, including Das Rheingold. With this Sounding Libretto, you can explore the numerous musical connections of this wonderful work.

All leitmotifs are noted in the margin so that you can follow them while listening. Audio examples have been recorded for all leitmotifs and can be played back using the free WebApp.

For those who wish to dive even deeper into the work, references on each page point to the corresponding tracks of a recording by Sir Georg Solti (Decca, remastered 2013).

With the Sounding Libretto, you gain deep insights into the wonderful world of Richard Wagner's emotional guides.

Scope

• 101 pages
• 32 musical score and audio examples, playable in the browser on smartphone or PC
• Includes WebApp with all audio examples

Free PDF

Examples

To listen to all audio examples, click on the image

Josef Hoffmann, Sketch for the Ring (1876)

1. Becoming motif
2. Becoming and wave motif
3. Rhine daughters’ motif
4. Alberich's appearance
5. Love distress motif
6. Woe motif
7. Caught one of you this fist!
8. Rhine gold fanfare
9. Rhine gold motif
10. renunciation motif
11. Ring motif
12. Deriv. ring motif
13. Ring motifs
14. Love curse motif
15. Valhalla motif
16. Derivation Valhalla motif
17. Contract motif
18. Derivation contract motif
19. Love spell motif
20. Escape motif
21. Freia motif
22. Longing for love sequence
23. Giant motif
24. Loge motif
25. Magic fire motif
26. Woman’s worth motif
27. Stretched love distress motif
28. Forge motif
29. Derivation forge motif
30. Camouflage helmet motif
31. Brooding motif
32. Hoard motif
33. Dragon motif
34. Hate motif
35. Curse motif
36. Erda motif
37. Twilight of the gods motif
38. Thunder motif
39. Sword motif