Appendix:Glossary of opera

This is a glossary of opera.

A

 * aria
 * aria di sorbetto
 * arioso

B

 * bel canto
 * breeches role
 * burletta

C

 * cabaletta
 * cadenza : A part of a piece of music, such as a concerto, that is very decorative and is played by a single musician.
 * cantabile
 * castrato
 * cavatina
 * chest voice
 * claque
 * coloratura : Florid or fancy passages in vocal music.
 * comprimario
 * convenienze
 * coup de glotte

D

 * da capo aria
 * diva : Any female celebrity, usually a well known singer or actress.
 * duodrama

E

 * entr'acte

F

 * fach
 * falsetto : The "false" (singing) voice in any human, usually airy and lacking a purity of vowels; created by utilizing the next highest vocal folds above those used for speech and normal range singing.
 * fioritura

G

 * gesamtkunstwerk

H

 * head voice

I

 * intermezzo : A short piece of music or act in the interval of the main spectacle.

K

 * kammersänger

L

 * leitmotif : A melodic theme associated with a particular character, place, thing or idea in an opera.
 * legato
 * libretto : The text of a dramatic musical work, such as an opera.
 * literaturoper

M

 * mad scene
 * maestro
 * melodrama : In opera, a passage in which the orchestra plays a somewhat descriptive accompaniment, while the actor speaks; as, the melodrama in the grave digging scene of Beethoven's "Fidelio".
 * monodrama : A play in the form of a monologue.
 * messa di voce

O

 * opera house

P

 * passaggio
 * portamento
 * prima donna
 * prompter

R

 * recitative : A dialogue, in an opera etc, that, rather than being sung as an aria, is reproduced with the rhythms of normal speech, often with simple musical accompaniment or harpsichord continuo; serves to expound the plot
 * regietheater
 * répétiteur
 * ritornello

S

 * sitzprobe
 * spinto
 * sprechgesang
 * squillo
 * stagione
 * surtitles

T

 * tessitura
 * timbre

V

 * vibrato : The musical effect or technique where the pitch or frequency of a note or sound is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note or sound.