OPERA GLOSSARY

If you've ever asked "What's an aria?" or "Isn't a cadenza a piece of furniture?" then you'll want to take a look at some commonly used opera terms and their meanings. This glossary is designed to help you understand the language of opera and allow you to better enjoy your opera experience at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

aria: From the Italian work for "air." A song for a solo voice with instrumental accompaniment.
adagio: A smooth, slow tempo.

andante: A relaxed, walking tempo.

apron: The front part of the stage between the orchestra pit and the curtain.

ballad opera: Combines spoken dialogue with well-known vocal tunes and dances. Popular in England in early 18th century.

bel canto: Meaning "beautiful singing," a fluid and lyrical vocal style popular in the mid-17th to mid-19th centuries. The singing takes precedence over the words or plot.

baritone: The medium male voice. Between the lower bass and higher tenor.

baroque: Baroque operas, popular from the early-1600s to the mid-1700s, are characterized by elaborate vocals and emotional, highly stylized and fanciful plots.

bass: The lowest of the male voices.

bass-baritone: Male voice combining the quality of the baritone with the depth of the bass.

basso buffo: A category of bass voice; a singer who specializes in comic characters.

basso profundo: The most serious of the bass voices.

bravo!: The Italian term shouted in approval at the end of a performance.

cadenza: A series of difficult, fast, high notes, sung at the end of an aria. Often improvised, singers use them to demonstrate their vocal abilities.

camerata: A gathering of writers and musicians who met regularly, in the late 16th century, to discuss and experiment with art.

cantata: Generally for chorus and soloists, a musical form based primarily on narrative text.

castrato: A castrated male with a much-prized high singing voice.

coda: The final idea presented in a musical composition.

coloratura: A very high-pitched soprano. May also refer to feats of vocal agility; fast and high singing with accompanying trills and embellishments.

commedia dell'arte: Popular in Italy, plots revolve around disguises, mistaken identities, and misunderstanding.

contralto: The lowest female voice.

deus ex machina: A staging or literary device referring to salvation from a tricky situation by a god or goddess.

diva: A female opera star. Translated into "goddess"; may imply a demanding or high-strung star.

English captions: Also called surtitles or supratitles or supertitles, electronically generated translations of the words sung during a performance.

falsetto: The high ranges of a male voice, sounding like a female voice. A "false" voice.

finale: Usually involving a large number of cast members, the last song of an act.

grand opera: Opera that is sung start to finish, without any spoken dialogue. May be epic in scale and deal with weighty matters.

imbroglio: Chaos and confusion during an operatic scene, created by diversity of rhythm and melody.

intermezzo: A short musical entertainment between acts.

libretto: Italian for "little book," the text accompanying the opera.

maestro: A courtesy title given conductors, composers, and directors. Italian for "Master."

masque: A blending of music, poetry, song, and dance.

mezzo soprano: The range of female voice between the highest (soprano) and lowest (contralto).

opera buffa: Comic opera. Its opposite is opera seria.

operetta: Light-hearted musical entertainment containing dance, spoken dialogue, and practical jokes. A musical.

opus: A single work or composition.

oratorio: A musical composition with religious, serious, or philosophical text for chorus, orchestra, and soloists.

overture: The instrumental introduction to the opera, usually containing excerpts of the opera's themes.

prima donna: "First lady" or the female star of the opera.

prompter: Sitting in a small box under the stage's apron, a prompter gives singers and choristers their vocal cues and provides assistance for any on-stage memory lapses.
range: Definitions of different human voices—bass, baritone, tenor, contralto, mezzo soprano, soprano.

soprano: The highest female voice.

supernumerary: A non-singing performer.

tenor: The highest male voice.

trouser or pants role: A male character sung by a woman, usually a mezzo soprano.

vibrato: The wavering tone added by a singer while sustaining a note.

Special thanks to Orlando Opera for permission to use the Opera Glossary section from their website.