A B C D E F G I L N O P R T V

ARIA — generally defined, a piece of music (or 'song') for solo voice and orchestral accompaniment appearing in the context of an opera which expresses the innermost thoughts and feelings of an operatic character. Arias usually do not drive the action of the drama but are moments of reflection for the character. They provide an opportunity for lyrical expression in an opera. Depending on the historical period an opera was composed, certain forms and structures were often followed in the composition of an aria.

ARIOSO — a term loosely used to describe a piece for solo voice that is neither quite an aria nor recitative. An arioso did not normally follow any strict form or structure and, while 'melodic', never had the finely wrought melodic content expected of an aria.

BALLET — dance that tells a story, or dance within an opera which is part of the fabric of the story. The earliest French operas (17th century) included dance as an integral part of the theatrical experience, although Italian composers often included dance in their operas as well, as late as the 19th century.

BANDA — an offstage band, collected instruments or small orchestra used in opera in order to heighten the illusion of music making within the drama of the opera. For instance, Verdi used a banda offstage in Rigoletto in order to convey a sense of reality about the party in the duke's palace which opens the opera.

BEL CANTO — (Italian, ‘fine singing’) a term loosely used to indicate the elegant Italian vocal style of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The operas of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti are commonly considered examples of the bel canto style, although the term was in common usage earlier.

CHORUS — a group of singers with more than one individual singing each part. The choruses in opera usually represent collective groups such as soldiers, priests, peasants, nymphs of the woods and so forth, whatever is required by the story of an opera. The term also refers to the music sung by a chorus.

COLORATURA — elaborate ornamentation in vocal music. The term is now widely used to denote certain passages of rapidly moving, elaborate vocal music in opera, operatic roles of which such passages are prominent and singers who specialize in them, e.g. coloratura sopranos.

DUET — the duet, a composition for two voices in opera with orchestral accompaniment, is the most popular type of operatic ensemble and has been used in opera ever since Monteverdi. The duet is used in opera especially for pairs of lovers but can also be used to express conflict between characters who are at odds with one another.

ENSEMBLE — a piece sung by more than one member of the cast of an opera. Although the term 'ensemble' can technically refer to a duet, trio, quartet, quintet, etc., it is often used specifically to refer to any sung portion of an opera in which a number of characters are expressing different emotions simultaneously or, as in a Rossini finale, are expressing perplexity or confusion in the face of an impossible situation.

FINALE — the last part of an opera, or of an act of an opera. The finale is often a formal, extended 'piece' at the end of an act during which the principal characters in the opera have the opportunity to dramatically evolve to a climax point or to the completion of the drama.

GRAND OPERA — Strictly speaking, means opera without spoken dialogue. It is usually used to refer to opera which uses a large orchestra and chorus and grand themes.

INTERLUDE — a short instrumental passage or self-contained piece that is often provided by a composer to cover a change of scene or to move dramatically from one mood or atmosphere to another.

LEITMOTIF — a short melodic 'idea', sometimes of only a few notes, which is used by a composer to signify someone or something in an operatic story. The German composer Richard Wagner developed the leitmotif to give unity to his sprawling, mythologically inspired music dramas like Tristan und Isolde and Der Ring des Nibelungens. In this epic four-part opera, there is a leitmotif for every character, every significant emotion, every prop (the sword, the tarnhelm, the Rhinegold), elements of nature (the river, fire, the forest, the forest bird) and every psychological state the exerts an influence on the drama which, when fully developed, provide a complex musical fabric through which Wagner weaves the story. But other composers followed his example and it is not unusual to hear composers using the leitmotif 'system' even today.

LIBRETTO — the complete text of an opera, but literally the "little book" that was published for operatic audiences beginning in the 18th century so that they could read the poetry during the performance (or prepare prior to a performance). Libretti are not regularly published anymore, now that audio recordings of operas come with complete texts and supertitles are provided in most opera houses.

NUMBER OPERA — this is a term for an opera consisting of individual sections called ‘numbers’ which consist of the arias, duets, ensembles and recitatives that make up the entire opera. A number opera is distinct from any opera that is 'through-composed', or that has a sense of continuity from its beginning to its end. Rossini's The Barber of Seville is a number opera; Verdi's Otello is a continuous whole, with no 'numbers' or individual sections that stand alone.

OPERA — (It., from Lat. Opera, plural of opus, ‘work’) The most narrow definition of opera is that it is an art form in which a drama is sung rather than spoken. But there are many forms of opera in Western art, and even more forms of sung drama outside of the Western canon, particularly in Asian and Southeast Asian cultures as well as in some Native American cultures.

OPERA BUFFA — the term opera buffa was first applied to the genre of comic opera as it rose to popularity in Italy and abroad over the course of the 18th century.

OVERTURE — an instrumental or orchestral piece that acts as an introduction to an opera or other theatre work.

PRELUDE — a short or medium-length instrumental number for orchestra acting as an introduction to an opera or other theater work. Wagner preferred the term 'prelude' to 'overture' in his music dramas, but even Verdi often made a distinction between overtures, which introduced and developed thematic material to be used in the body of an opera (e.g. La forza la destino), and preludes, which were shorter and less developed (e.g. Aida).

RECITATIVE — (from the Italian, recitative)–a type of vocal writing in opera which mimics speech or 'recitation'. This imitation of normal speech patterns existed from the time of Monteverdi and the other early creators of opera. In Italian practice, two forms of recitative evolved: recitativo secco, accompanied only by a keyboard instrument (harpsichord or fortepiano) which conveyed everyday dialogue leading to more dramatic moments (aria); and recitativo accompagnato, which was accompanied by orchestra and used to convey noble speech, or the speech of noble, royal or mythological characters.

TESSITURA — a term used in reference to the ‘lie’ of a role: if a tessitura is said to be high, this may not mean that any individual note is particularly high but rather that the role on the whole tends to lie in the upper area of the voice.

THROUGH-COMPOSED — a term used in opera to refer to a work that is continuous in texture, with no individual ‘numbers’.

VERISMO — (It., ‘realism’) a movement in Italian literature and music reflecting the naturalism or realism of a style made popular through the novels of Émile Zola. Stories tended to be about characters from the 'lower' social strata and the moral ambiguities that these characters face because of their position in society. Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are perfect examples of Italian verismo operas.