Death Becomes Her

At the opening of the second part of Ariadne auf Naxos (the Opera), Zerbinetta and her troupe of vaudeville comedians are trying unsuccessfully to make Ariadne feel better. The Cretan princess has just been abandoned on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus, whom she helped escape from the maze of the Minotaur. Finally left alone by the singing and dancing jokesters, Ariadne has the time and space to contemplate her fate—and even to hasten its arrival.  

“Es gibt ein Reich” (Track 5 or MOod clip 23) is thus the central tragic aria for Ariadne, portrayed by the Prima Donna from the Prologue, in which she fantasizes about transcending earthly existence to the realm of death, “where all is pure.” This piece, however, like much of the opera, enacts a profound transformation of perspective as the grief-stricken princess’s mood shifts from morbid lament to eager anticipation. The alternation between despair and hope reflects the broader contrast of high tragedy and low comedy in Strauss’s work, a dynamic embodied by the presence of both opera singers and commedia dell’arte performers on the deserted island.

The aria begins solemnly as Ariadne evokes the “realm of death,” singing the same notes repeatedly with a gradual stepwise descent. When she finally intones the name of this pure realm, “Totenreich,” the vocal line leaps an octave downwards as if itself falling into the depths of the underworld. In the following section, however, Ariadne’s stoic resolve takes on an altogether different character as she sings of the impending arrival of Hermes, the messenger of death.

Here, the composer reintroduces a four-note motif in the oboe reminiscent of a horn call. This motif first appears in the cellos and basses as Ariadne begins the aria and returns later in the opera to represent Bacchus. In this section, the rhythm in both the vocal line and orchestral accompaniment quickens as Ariadne sustains a high B-flat on the name “Hermes”—both expressing her excitement and signaling the messenger’s divinity. As she continues to imagine Hermes’s arrival, the music becomes more upbeat. On certain phrases, the vocal line also roughly approximates the four-note motif, even harmonizing perfectly with the English horn’s iteration on “Wird dein Schritt vor meiner Höhle” (“you approach my cave”).

In the third section of “Es gibt ein Reich,” Ariadne sings of the ceremonial shawl given her by her mother, representing the world of the past, and the solemn singing style of the opening returns. Ariadne’s melody is static, comprising E-flats for four full measures before slowly descending stepwise across the next four bars. All the while, the motif returns to the cellos and basses as in the aria’s introduction.

When Ariadne again beckons Hermes’s arrival on the phrase “Aber lautlos meine Seele/ Folget ihrem neuen Herrn” (“In silence, my soul will follow my new lord”), the melody ascends once more in leaping arpeggios. It is this perspective that remains intact for the remainder of the aria. A beautiful, florid melody accompanies the line, “Hermes, you will set me free!” On the final word of that phrase, Ariadne sings an extended, ascending melisma across three bars. From here, the melody begins a gradual, intensifying climb as if repeating the promise of Hermes’s arrival—culminating in a high B-flat on the word “me” (the same high note as the Composer’s aria!). And finally, an upward, modulating melody on the repetition of the name “Ariadne” illustrates the promising transformation she imagines Hermes will bring.