[1 inch below the bass staff]

enough in itself to show his whereabouts; and as if that were not enough,
this:

[_Verdammungs_Motiv_] (Allegro frantico.) [2 dissonances, « and 1 inches
below the bass staff]

to show that he is uncomfortable!

It will be interesting for the student to note the difference between the
"_Verdammungs_Motiv_" of "Bluebeard" and the" Damnation Motive" of Wagner's
earlier opera, "Tannha'user."

[Damnation Motive]

Both are strong, tragic, and powerful, but the sins of Bluebeard are gross
and those of Tannha'user subtle; consequently the peril of each is
foreshadowed in its own way, it being very clear that Bluebeard's fate is
final, while Tannha'user, as we know, is saved by the spiritual influence
of Elizabeth, a very different lady indeed from the frivolous and mercenary
Fatima.


The plot of this music-drama itself is made beautifully clear by this
_Vorspiel_ and lecture-recital, so that even a mother and child at a
matine'e can follow the tone-pictures without difficulty; but the libretto,
which is a remarkable specimen of Wagner's alliterative verse, only helps
the more to rivet attention and compel admiration. I have given you an idea
of the brief overture, and the opera itself opens with a somber recitative,