Gluck and Wagner brought back undying principles of dramatic worth. In the days of Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti, melody was supreme. The dramatic truth was lost sight of and the melody was not appropriate. In "William Tell" and "Der Freischutz" there was a step onwards towards the Wagner reform and a return to the first principles of dramatic art as applied to opera by the Bardi coterie. There was recitative, declamation and melody. Individualism was the prevailing tendency, and the success depends on the forcibleness of character development by means of the leitmotiv. Operatic art was here swaying between Wagnerism and the ancient Greek drama. This union of drama and music does away with the old absurd Italian form, in which the libretto was a mere skeleton, the situations unnatural and the music inappropriate and undramatic. The Wagner texts were better and abolished concerted music which was unnatural, and he demanded distinctness in ennunciation, musical embodiment of emotional speech, melodic independence of the orchestra and rapid and natural action. The Italian libretto was merely an excuse for musical adornment, but the Wagnerian opera was a source of inspiration. Wagner translated every character, emotion, dramatic action, symbolic idea by a series of characteristic phrases. He joined motive to motive, developed with artistic skill a musical current rolling along in the orchestral accompaniment and ample in every word. In his earlier works Wagner adhered to the lyrical conception of the opera. Speech was raised by stress of emotion into song with the orchestra used only as an accompaniment and, under this new system, effected an organization of instrumental and vocal forces. In "Das Rheingold" the orchestra is exalted to symphonic dignity with the traditional alternations of the formal song and recitative merged into free declamation. The symphonic treatment of the orchestra led to increased developmentt of leading motives. As symphonic music presupposes the use of musical themes, Wagner drew his themes not from the words sung by the characters but from the characters themselves, their thoughts, feelings and aspirations. In the love duet in "Die Walküre" the most delicious harmony is expressed.