tragediennes
Serious drama performers
Tragediennes is the plural of tragedienne, a female actor who specializes in tragic roles.
The term carries old-fashioned theatrical grandeur: The great tragediennes of the nineteenth-century stage.
It implies dramatic intensity and emotional range, sometimes used ironically for women given to melodrama: She flung herself on the couch like one of the great tragediennes.
Female stage performer
- melodramaSensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- pathosPity-evoking quality
- heroineBrave female protagonist
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
declamation · weeping · lamentation · death scene · grief · suffering · downfall · catharsis
Of a prim era
- EdwardianOf early twentieth-century Britain
- IrvingMale given name
- BoothHistorical surname
- repertoryCollection of prepared works
touring · stock company · matinee · playbill · corseted · swooning · fainting couch · gaslight
Celebrated female vocalist
- prima donnaTemperamental, self-important person
- sopranoHighest female voice range
- ariaOperatic solo piece
- ToscaTragic Roman opera
Norma · bel canto · coloratura · libretto · consumptive · lament · passion · betrayal
actress
Female stage performer
- melodramaSensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- pathosPity-evoking quality
- heroineBrave female protagonist
soliloquy · declamation · weeping · lamentation · death scene · grief · suffering · downfall · catharsis · monologue
Victorian
Of a prim era
repertory · touring · stock company · matinee · playbill · corseted · swooning · fainting couch · gaslight · melodramatic
diva
Celebrated female vocalist
- prima donnaTemperamental, self-important person
- sopranoHighest female voice range
- ariaOperatic solo piece
Tosca · Norma · bel canto · coloratura · libretto · consumptive · lament · passion · betrayal · sacrifice
Medea
Mythical infanticidal sorceress
- AntigoneTheban princess who honored forbidden burial
- ElectraMythic Greek princess
- PhaedraCretan princess, Athenian queen
Clytemnestra · chorus · Greek · Euripides · Sophocles · hubris · fate · nemesis · hamartia · chorus