A leitmotiv is a Phrase, a Formule which return on several occasions in a literary work, a Discours, etc Apparu at the 19th century the word is a German loan with the language E.

It initially applied in Musique to indicate a conducting musical reason in a work.

The principle of the leitmotiv seems to be in germ in the Opéra itself, so much this musical form is favourable with the use of techniques of musical reminiscences or of significant associations of a reason with a character, a feeling or a situation.

Thus, in Cosi fan tutte of Mozart, opening makes to hear reason which one does not include/understand the direction , which justifies the title even opera, that once he was sung by Don Alfonso (" Cosi fan tutte! " , " thus they do all! ") there but it would be undoubtedly abusive to see a leitmotiv with the clean direction of the term.

Always at the 18th century, of the unnamed examples of leitmotiv are detectable at Grétry and Méhul.

Berlioz, in 1830 with the fantastic Symphonie gave an original version of the concept, without differently naming it than under literary name of obsession .

Giacomo Meyerbeer, whose influence on Wagner, in this field and in others, is always under discussion, had also recourse in its operas to formulas that one can describe as leitmotiv.

Literally, the term of leitmotiv seems to be appeared for the first time in 1860, in connection with works of Richard Wagner and of Liszt ( Culturhistorische Bilder by A.W Ambros, Leipzig) However, it is the work of F.W Jähns on the life and the work of Weber (Berlin, 1871) which is generally regarded as the birth certificate of the leitmotiv term, which will become current with Hans von Wolzogen and her analyzes of the music of Wagner. It should be noted on the other hand that Wagner, which led in fact the principle to its apogee, preferred to use the terms of grundthema or grundmotiv (topic, fundamental reason)

See too

leitmotiv (wikitionaire)

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Simple: Leitmotiv