GLOSSARY OF BASIC OPERA TERMS
Aria. Primary expressive vehicle in an opera: the song. Songs have a regular pulse (meter) and one can tap one’s foot to the beat.
Arioso. A section of singing that falls into regular meter, whether just a few measures, or a longer passage. Contrasts with the free pulses of recitative.
Bayreuth. Pronounced “bye- roit” The town where Wagner built his revolutionary opera theater which he called a Festspielhaus (Festival Play House)
Bel canto. “beautiful singing”—a term used to describe the technical method and effortless sound of Italian opera singing both in the Baroque (around 1700, the time of Handel) and, more typically, around 1800, when the operas of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti featured long passages of high decorative coloratura.
Castrati. Male singers with powerful soprano voices because, as little boys, they underwent a special operation that prevented their male hormones from developing normally. Castrati were the great stars of Baroque opera seria and played heroic roles. Despite (or because of?) their sterility, they were adored by women.
Coloratura. Difficult passages of high notes, rapidly delivered. These musical lines of “color” or decoration demand a carefully learned technique, so that the frightful virtuosity sounds effortless and relaxed. Generally sopranos and tenors sing coloratura passages. Italian opera from Handel through Verdi featured much coloratura.
Commedia dell’arte. A long tradition of Italian street theater, played out in the ancient traditions of puppetry. Stereotypical characters from the scheming maid to the grouchy old doctor, the conniving Captain, the foolish lover, and above all the jester (Harlequin) and the sad clown (Petrushka/Petruccio) were taken over into the plots of opera buffa. The stock jokes of commedia dell’arte are known as lazzi and are known and recognizable in most comedy routines.
Deux ex machine. “God from the Machine.” A convention in Baroque opera (taken from earlier theater) where someone/something rescued the main character, be it a Greek god descending from the clouds or a person acting to save someone’s life. Such rescuers were frequently dropped down from “clouds” sprang magically onto the set.
Florentine Camerata. A group of aristocratic intellectuals in Florence, Italy, who, in the 1590s, explored ways to resurrect Greek drama and particularly the musical elements comprising Greek dramas as they understood the tradition. Their experiments are considered the first “operas.”
Gesamtkunstwerk. Collective, complete, or total art work. Wagner’s term for the impact he wanted his opera to have—forcefully combining every aspect of visual, sound, and plastic art to create a new art form,
Lazzi. Stock jokes, comic dialogues, and comic devices used in commedia dell’arte, many of which were bawdy and ridiculous. Devices included use of letters, disguises, storms, ladders, lost and found keys, leaps from balconies, collapsing chairs, trap doors, and anything that would produce a laugh.
Libretto From libro, book, and meaning little book. The text of an opera, oratorio, or cantata. Printed cheaply for purchase in very small book format—hence ”little book.”
Librettist. The text writer, or writer of the libretto. The equivalent of a lyricist.
Lieto fine. “Happy ending” expected by the audience members in a Baroque opera seria.
Music Drama. Wagner’s term for his own operas which, after The Flying Dutchman, did away with the sections found in number operas and featured instead a continuous flow of music that seamlessly integrated the sections of recitative, aria, ensembles, and choruses.
Number Opera. An opera whose text and music is divided into clear and distinguishable sections, or numbers such as recitatives, arias, duets, trios, ensembles, and choruses. By the mid 19th century, such strict division began to fade and give way to a more continuous Music Drama.
Opera. Taken from the Latin term opus, or “work.” Refers to a dramatic work which uses music in some capacity.
Opera buffa. Comic opera born at the end of the Baroque and remaining popular into the modern era., Term buffa means funny (think “buffoon”). Plots more natural, simpler, more sentimental than in opera seria. Natural sung interactions of characters in ensembles very important. Castrati not used.
Opéra comique. French term for a dialogue opera, where the conversations are “talked” and the expressive moments are set in song. The name comes from the building in Paris, the dramatic theater where dramatic (comedie) works (opere) were performed.
Opera seria. Serious opera during the Baroque period, consisting primarily of recitatives and arias strung together to portray the story. Plots generally based on Greek mythology and/or Roman history. Had a happy ending, no matter how tragic. Main heroes were played by castrati. Vocal virtuoso was emphasized.
Operetta. Literally “little opera” but designating a dialogue opera where the conversations are “talked” and the expressive moments are set in song. Very popular in German repertoire. The most famous examples are The Merry Widow and Fledermaus.
Recitative Sung speech. Speech recited musically, to tones, in free rhythm. Very fast moving in Italian operas.
Secco recitativo. Secco = dry. Recitative accompanied primarily by a harpsichord, sometimes with a bassoon or cello bass line played beneath it. Used for ordinary conversational recitative.
Recitativo accompagnato. Accompanied recitative, scored for the expected harpsichord, plus the bassoon or cello bass line as well as other instruments, including violins, flutes, trumpets, or whatever the composer wishes. The recitative is, therefore, more lavishly accompanied than secco or dry recitative. Used for special conversations, monologues, or dialogues in the drama.
Singspiel. German term for a dialogue opera, where the conversations are “talked” and the expressive moments are set in song. Name taken from the verbs singen—to sing—plus spielen—to play.
Verismo. Realism or Truism in opera. A trend in opera (and theater) beginning in the 19th century with realistic plots and drastic emotional content