“A leitmotiv- guiding, or leading, motive- is a musical motive associated with some person, thing, idea, or symbol in the drama.” To put it in simpler terms, is a leitmotiv basically music acting as a symbol for some kind of emotion? Would the ominous music in a movie be a leitmotiv to warn us that something bad will happen? Later on in the reading, it says that even after Wagner, leitmotivs were “employed in most operas, in form or another; its dramatic power was acknowledged by both audiences and composers alike.” We mentioned in class that even though the Opera is in a different language, we can still understand the storyline. Do leitmotivs play a role in this?