Opera Vocabulary
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1. Overture - An opening composition before the opera
2. Adagio - Slow
3. Allegro - Fast
4. Coda - Special ending
5. Theme - Reocurring melody in a piece of music
6. Staccato - Short and detatched
7. Legato - Smooth and connected
8. Aria - Opera solo
9. Soprano - The highest female voice
10. Recitative - Conversation in an opera that is sung rather than spoken
11. Duet - Two singers or instrumentalists singing or playing in harmony
12. Trio - Three singers or instrumentalists singing or playing in harmony
13. Repetition - A repeated melody or rhythm
14. Contrast - A different melody or rhythm
15. Tenor - The highest male singing voice
16. Baritone - The middle male voice part between tenor and bass
17. Bass - The lowest male voice part
18. Contralto - The lowest female voice part
19. Introduction - Music played for several measures before the soloist or group starts to playor sing
20. Meter - The way beats are organized into measures
21. Articulation - The style in which a piece is performed
22. Tempo - How fast or slow the music is performed
23. Dynamics - How loud and soft the music is performed
24.Lyrics - The words of a song
25. Libretto - The words of an opera
26. Forte - Italian word for loud
27. Piano - Italian word for soft
28.Tone color - The characteristic sound of a voice or instrument
29. Leitmotif - A specific melody associated with a specific character