recitative
Opera's spoken singing
Recitative is a style of vocal delivery in opera and oratorio that imitates the rhythms of speech rather than sustained melody.
It typically advances the plot between arias, with the singer following natural speech patterns while accompanied by sparse instrumentation: The recitative explained that the hero had been betrayed.
The style bridges spoken dialogue and song.
Operatic solo piece
- librettoOpera's written words
- oratorioUnstaged sacred choral work
- cantataVocal work with instruments
- continuoBaroque harmonic foundation
harpsichord · baroque · Monteverdi · Handel · Mozart · Puccini · Verdi · Wagner
Recounting events aloud
- dramaticStrikingly expressive or sudden
- librettoOpera's written words
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
exposition · plot · action · exchange · interlocution · dramatic tension · aside
Highest female voice range
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- baritoneMid-range male voice
- mezzo-sopranoMedium female singing voice
- bassDeep pitch or fish
contralto · coloratura · bel canto · tessitura · phrasing · diction · articulation · expression
Forceful, theatrical speaking
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
- inflectionWord form alteration
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
syllabic · accentuation · speechlike · enunciation · elocution · rhetoric · oratory · monologue
aria
Operatic solo piece
continuo · harpsichord · baroque · Monteverdi · Handel · Mozart · Puccini · Verdi · Wagner · da capo
storytelling
Recounting events aloud
- dramaticStrikingly expressive or sudden
- librettoOpera's written words
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
scene · exposition · plot · action · exchange · interlocution · dramatic tension · aside
soprano
Highest female voice range
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- baritoneMid-range male voice
- mezzo-sopranoMedium female singing voice
bass · contralto · coloratura · bel canto · tessitura · phrasing · diction · articulation · expression · dynamics
declamation
Forceful, theatrical speaking
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
- inflectionWord form alteration
cadence · syllabic · accentuation · speechlike · enunciation · elocution · rhetoric · oratory · monologue · soliloquy
tempo
Rate of musical performance
- meterDevice that measures usage
- unmeasuredNot quantified or gauged
- flexibleAble to bend freely
- musical communicationsinging, humming, whistling, chanting, yodeling
- vocal musicsong, vocals, soprano, tenor, alto
- Baroque MusicBach, Vivaldi, Handel, harpsichord, Vivaldi Four Seasons
- operaopera, aria, arias, soprano, tenor
- choral musicchoral music, choral works, choral arrangements, choral arrangement, choir arrangements
- dramatic music aestheticsopera, theatricality, dramatic tension, emotional resonance, dramatic themes
- oral recitationSpeaking prepared text aloud
- Quran recitationOral delivery of Islamic scripture
- poetry recitationSpoken presentation of verse
- dramatic recitationsTheatrical spoken word presentations