Opera Terminology
Across
- 3. musical singing in the rhythm of speech
- 6. French light opera of the 18th and 19th centuries
- 11. a Baroque aria that repeats the first part of the aria, with different embellishments, after the singing of a contrasting second part
- 14. also called "pants role". The part of a male character sung by a mezzo-soprano
- 17. highest voiced male
- 18. a type of late 19th and 20th century Italian opera that emphasized realistic subjects
- 20. a replacement for a particular role in case of illness or emergency
- 21. smooth and flowing line
- 23. the character that a singer portrays
- 24. a formal song sung by a single vocalist.
- 27. literally 'serious opera'. An opera form of the 17th and early 18th centuries
- 28. lowest voiced female
- 30. the person who supervises all musical detail, rehearsals and leads the orchestra and advises the artistic director
- 31. a loosely used term, often used interchangeably with comic opera
- 32. a large painted surface at the rear of the stage
- 34. means 'beautiful song', a style of singing in Baroque/Romantic periods
- 35. a major singing role, or the singer who performs such a role
- 36. the highest natural male voice, not a castrato
- 38. a group of singers who portray townspeople, guests or other unnamed characters; also refers to the music written for these people
- 39. the muscle which separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity
- 40. the right side of the stage from the performer's perspective
- 41. the text/words of an opera
- 42. the last musical number of an opera, or of an act of an opera
Down
- 1. the left side of the stage from the performer's perspective
- 2. a musical ornament requiring the rapid alternation of two adjacent notes
- 4. an instrumental interlude played between acts, or short two-act comic opera played between the acts of an opera seria
- 5. middle to lowest voiced male
- 7. literally 'texture'; the approximate range of a role or an aria
- 8. Middle to low voiced female
- 9. a German form of comic opera with spoken dialogue
- 10. a resting place or close of a passage of music
- 12. a section of the opera, play, etc. usually followed by an intermission
- 13. Highest voiced female
- 15. the front of the stage nearest the audience
- 16. decoration or ornament; trills, grace notes, and turns
- 19. basically serious play, frequently using comedy for relief, it only outwardly resembles tragedy
- 22. a play with many songs; music drawn from popular folk songs
- 25. the area of the stage not visible to the audience, usually where the dressing rooms are located.
- 26. a voice that can sing music with many rapid notes, or the music written for such a voice
- 27. similar to opera but without acting, costumes, and scenery
- 29. music written for two people to sing together
- 30. an elaborate passage near the end of an aria, which shows off the singer's vocal ability
- 33. an orchestral introduction to the opera, usually played before the acting begins
- 37. a precise Italian definition, meaning Italian comic opera of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
- 40. the music of an opera or other musical work in which the parts for different performers appear vertically above one another