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Operatic Terms and Definitions
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Flashcards
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Basso buffo
A bass singer who specializes in comic roles.
Quartet
A composition for four voices or instruments.
Soubrette
A young, lighter soprano voice type, often playing ingenue roles or other youthful, flirtatious characters.
Bravura
A showy, brilliant style of singing designed to exhibit the singer's vocal skills.
Libretto
The text or script of an opera.
Fach
A system that classifies opera singers by the range, weight, and color of their voices.
Intermezzo
A short piece of instrumental music used as a bridge between acts or scenes in an opera.
Legato
A smooth, flowing manner of playing or singing a series of notes so that they are connected smoothly together.
Caesura
A complete break in sound, sometimes called ‘railroad tracks’, often seen as two vertical slashes (//).
Oratorio
A large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists; similar to an opera but without costumes, scenery, or acting.
Baritone
A male voice type that lies between the bass and the tenor voices.
Pizzicato
A playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument.
Con Brio
A musical term that means with spirit or vigor.
Prima donna
The leading lady in an opera; often a term for a very temperamental person.
Maestro
A title of respect given to a master musician, often the conductor or music director of an opera.
Falsetto
A vocal register above the natural voice range, produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal cords, in whole or in part.
Cavatina
A short, simple melody or song without a second strain or any repetition of the air.
Cadenza
A virtuosic solo passage inserted into a movement or aria within larger vocal works, often improvised or written in a free style.
Patter song
A comic song characterized by a fast tempo and the rapid delivery of difficult lyrics.
Recitative
A style of delivery where a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech.
Divertissement
A lengthy dance or musical interlude within an opera, often unrelated to the plot.
Primo uomo
The principal male singer in an opera company.
Regieoper
A style of opera production where the director's vision is emphasized over the composer's or the text's intentions.
Pasticcio
An opera composed of works from various composers, often put together to create a new work.
Comprimario
A supporting or secondary role in an opera.
Drama giocoso
A type of opera that blends serious and comic action.
Duetto
A musical composition for two performers with equal importance to the piece, particularly in opera.
Leitmotif
A recurring musical theme associated with a particular person, place, or idea.
Coloratura
Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line.
Bel canto
A style of singing that emphasizes beautiful tone, legato phrasing, and agility.
Castrato
A male singer castrated before puberty to preserve the soprano or alto vocal range, prominent in 17th- and 18th-century opera.
Heldentenor
A powerful, heroic tenor voice, particularly associated with Wagnerian opera.
Singspiel
A form of German light opera, typically with spoken dialogue, popular in the late 18th century.
Portamento
A smooth, gliding transition from one pitch to another.
Buffa
Opera 'buffa' is a genre of opera characterized by light, humorous themes and typically having a happy ending.
Mezzo-soprano
Voice type between soprano and contralto, often associated with rich mid-range vocal quality.
Aria
A self-contained piece for one voice, usually with orchestral accompaniment.
Cantabile
A style of singing that is lyrical and flowing, in a singing style.
Appoggiatura
An ornamental note that clashes with the melody note following it and is resolved by stepping to that note.
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