It was the theme music for The Lone Ranger in radio, television and film,[1] and has become widely associated with horseback riding since then.

The overture, which lasts for approximately 12 minutes, paints a musical picture of life in the Swiss Alps, the setting of the opera.

Their phrases are punctuated by short wind instrument interventions of three notes each, first by the piccolo, flute and oboes, then by the clarinets and bassoons.

The storm breaks out in full with the entrance of the French horns, trumpets, trombones, and bass drum.

Ranz des vaches This pastorale section in G major and in an A-B-A-Coda form, signifying the calm after the storm, begins with a Ranz des vaches or "Call to the Cows", featuring the cor anglais (English horn).

The English horn then plays in alternating phrases with the flute, culminating in a duet with the triangle accompanying them in the background.

[6] The melody appears several times in the opera, including the final act, and takes on the character of a leitmotif.

This segment is often used in animated cartoons to signify daybreak or bucolic beauty, most notably in Walt Disney's The Old Mill[8] and Marv Newland's Bambi Meets Godzilla, which uses the tune as its main musical score before Godzilla stomps on Bambi.

It alludes to the final act, which recounts the Swiss soldiers' victorious battle to liberate their homeland from Austrian repression.

[15] One of the most frequently used pieces of classical music in American advertising, the overture (especially its finale) appears in numerous ads,[16] with psychologist Joan Meyers-Levy suggesting that it is particularly suitable for those targeting male consumers.

[18][19] Amongst the films which feature the overture prominently is Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, where an electronic rearrangement by Wendy Carlos of the finale is played during a fast motion orgy scene.