[Music: herr - - - lich-ste Maid]

[Music: _Siegfried_ ACT III. SCENE III.
Sieg-fried-es Stern ... Sie ist mir e-wig, ist mir
im-mer Erb' und Eig - en ... Ein ... er ist mir]

The flower-maidens' chorus in _Parsifal_ might be called the
apotheosis of Italian song. What Wagner means by his scathing ridicule
of the Italian opera and Italian melody, is not that it is worthless,
but that it has no meaning. In short it is not the drama.

We recognized the radical fault of the Italian opera to be its
subordination of the drama to the music. In opposition to this it has
been asserted that the music aids the drama by carrying on the action.
Let us examine this by the light of one example, the well-known
seduction scene of Zerlina in _Don Giovanni_. The form of music
as such is determined by rhythmic repetitions of themes, varied or
not. The scene is full of dramatic charm and has great capabilities.
Don Giovanni begins insinuatingly: "Give me your hand, Zerlina; come
away with me to my castle." The timid peasant girl at first hesitates.
"No, no," she replies, "I dare not--yet how I should like to!--but
what would Masetto say?" All this is in the most winning and seductive
melody; it is exactly the tone in which a young nobleman and a rather
coquettish but entirely innocent young girl would express themselves.
The situation becomes warmer; Don Giovanni is more pressing--he puts
his arm round her--he is just about to kiss her, when suddenly the
scene begins over again from the beginning with "Give me your hand,"
etc., and the whole episode is rendered absurd! Up to this point we
have been so transported by the interest of the scene and the
appropriateness of the expression that we almost feel ourselves to be