operas
Theatrical sung performances
Operas is the plural of opera, a dramatic art form combining music, singing, and theatrical staging.
The word appears in compound terms: soap operas are serialized melodramas, space operas are epic science fiction adventures, and horse operas are Westerns.
The Met stages several new operas each season.
Opera's written words
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
- orchestrationScoring for instrumental ensemble
- overtureIntroductory orchestral piece
- preludeIntroductory piece or event
leitmotif · intermezzo · prologue · finale · ensemble · chorus · recitative
Disastrous or sorrowful event
- librettoOpera's written words
- plotStoryline or land parcel
- protagonistStory's central figure
- antagonistOne who opposes another
climax · pathos · catharsis · melodrama · denouement · love triangle · betrayal · sacrifice
Highest female voice range
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- baritoneMid-range male voice
- mezzo-sopranoMedium female singing voice
- contraltoLowest female vocal range
bass · coloratura · aria · recitative · bel canto · falsetto · vibrato · duet
Italian operatic composer
- VerdiItalian opera composer
- MozartEighteenth-century Austrian composer
- WagnerGerman Romantic opera composer
- HandelBaroque composer of oratorios
Rossini · Bellini · Tchaikovsky · Monteverdi · Strauss · Offenbach · Britten · Debussy
Gathered viewers collectively
- auditoriumRoom for spectators
- premiereFirst public performance
- opening nightFirst staged performance
- galaFestive formal occasion
intermission · applause · encore · standing ovation · curtain call · box seats · balcony · mezzanine
Raised performance platform
- curtainFabric hung for privacy
- prosceniumTheater's architectural frame
- orchestra pitRecessed area for musicians
- sceneryVisible natural surroundings
costumes · props · lighting · sets · backdrop · surtitles · supertitles · director
Opera about enslaved Ethiopian princess
- CarmenSpanish female name
- La BohemeOpera about bohemian life
- Madama ButterflyThree-act Nagasaki opera
- The Magic FluteMozart's final operatic masterpiece
Tosca · Rigoletto · La Traviata · Don Giovanni · Turandot · Fidelio · Norma · Pagliacci
libretto
Opera's written words
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
- orchestrationScoring for instrumental ensemble
- overtureIntroductory orchestral piece
prelude · leitmotif · intermezzo · prologue · finale · ensemble · chorus · recitative
tragedy
Disastrous or sorrowful event
- librettoOpera's written words
- plotStoryline or land parcel
- protagonistStory's central figure
antagonist · climax · pathos · catharsis · melodrama · denouement · love triangle · betrayal · sacrifice · revenge
soprano
Highest female voice range
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- baritoneMid-range male voice
- mezzo-sopranoMedium female singing voice
contralto · bass · coloratura · aria · recitative · bel canto · falsetto · vibrato · duet · diva
Puccini
Italian operatic composer
- VerdiItalian opera composer
- MozartEighteenth-century Austrian composer
- WagnerGerman Romantic opera composer
Handel · Rossini · Bellini · Tchaikovsky · Monteverdi · Strauss · Offenbach · Britten · Debussy · Gershwin
audience
Gathered viewers collectively
- auditoriumRoom for spectators
- premiereFirst public performance
- opening nightFirst staged performance
gala · intermission · applause · encore · standing ovation · curtain call · box seats · balcony · mezzanine · parterre
stage
Raised performance platform
- curtainFabric hung for privacy
- prosceniumTheater's architectural frame
- orchestra pitRecessed area for musicians
scenery · costumes · props · lighting · sets · backdrop · surtitles · supertitles · director · production
Aida
Opera about enslaved Ethiopian princess
- CarmenSpanish female name
- La BohemeOpera about bohemian life
- Madama ButterflyThree-act Nagasaki opera
The Magic Flute · Tosca · Rigoletto · La Traviata · Don Giovanni · Turandot · Fidelio · Norma · Pagliacci · Falstaff
- stage showsplays, musicals, dramas, comedies, tragedies
- creative worksbooks, autobiography, memoir, novels, diary
- entertainmentmovie, movies, films, band, television
- performing artsacting, dance, music, drama, theater
- videosvideos, clip, clips, video clip, films
- classical musicBach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms
operasstraight plays
Theater without songs
plays · dramas · silent films · musicals · comedies
operaspop concerts
Live mainstream music events
popular entertainment · pulp fiction · reality television · soap operas · sitcoms
operasfolk songs
Inherited communal music
campfire songs · spoken word · a cappella · punk rock · nursery rhymes
- soap operaSerialized melodramatic broadcast drama
- rock operasNarrative albums performed theatrically
- opera houseVenue for staged singing
- opera singerDramatic vocal stage performer
- Phantom of the OperaMasked musical theater specter
- space operaDramatic sci-fi in cosmos