ster theme of the Pope's curse. He tells Wolfram how
he has been to Rome, how he has suffered, how he asked the Pope's
pardon, and how the Pope declared that he should never be forgiven until
the staff in his hand blossomed. So now he is on his way back to Venus.
Venus calls him; he struggles with Wolfram, and is about to break away
when the body of Elisabeth is carried by. Tannhaeuser falls by the side
of the bier; the Pope's staff, which has burgeoned, is brought on; and
so the opera ends, Tannhaeuser being redeemed.

It is necessary to rehearse in this way the dramatic bases of
_Tannhaeuser_ and Wagner's succeeding operas for two reasons. First, the
drama, which played a big enough part in the _Dutchman_, now becomes
more important, more essential, than ever. Many an old Italian opera may
be heard without the hearer knowing in the least what it is about;
indeed, in many cases the less one knows of the plot, the more one
enjoys the music. But the reverse is true of Wagner. Certain portions of
_Tannhaeuser_, for example, can be listened to with pleasure simply as
noble or beautiful music: the overture, Tannhaeuser's Song to Venus, the
Pilgrims' Marching Chorus, Wolfram's "O Star of Eve," Elisabeth's
Prayer, and so on. On the other hand, without an acquaintance with the
story, and each stage of the story as it progresses, much of Venus's
music in the first act loses its significance; the duet of Elisabeth and
Tannhaeuser in the second act loses its pathos, and the huge finale is
meaningless, even as music; and the greater portion of the third act is
simply bewildering. When we know what is being sung or done, the music
is as clear as the day. Wagner knew this better than anyone, and, as I
pointed out in commenting on the _Dutchman_, he brought his whole
theatrical experience and training to help him to make the drama as
simple and comprehensible as possible. When the Wagner battle was raging
in the seventies and eighties, the sages pointed to the necessity of
understanding the drama for the purpose of understanding the music as a
defect of the Wagner music-drama, and a proof of Wagner's inferiority as
a composer. But one would like to ask the sages how many songs are there
which do not afford a finer artistic enjoyment when the words are
understood?

A second reason for thoroughly knowing the drama of the later Wagner
operas is that without that knowledge the _leit-motif_, which now
becomes a formidable element, is lik