opera

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. grand opera (see music); libretto. See drama.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. musical drama, opera score, libretto, opera performance; see performance 2 , show 1 .

Kinds of operas include: grand, light, comic; opéra bouffe, opéra comique ( both French), opera buffa (Italian), operetta.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

musical, melodrama, libretto, drame lyrique. ''When a guy gets stabbed in the back and instead of bleeding, he sings.''— Edward Gardner. ''A magic scene contrived to please the eyes and the ears at the expense of the understanding.''—Lord Chesterfield.

WORD FIND

• bass voice, sweet and light: basso cantante

• booming bass voice: basso profundo

• brilliant and pure vocal tone: bel canto

• comical opera: buffa

• composition with several arias, duets, choruses: cantata

• false high pitch of male: falsetto

• highest range of male voice: tenor

• highest singing voice: soprano

• lead female singer: prima donna, diva

• lead male singer: prima uomo

• light opera: operetta

• long composition of religious theme presented without scenery, costumes: oratorio long vocal solo piece: aria

• low, comical voice: basso buffo

• lowest female voice: contralto

• lowest male voice: bass

• male castrated in seventeenth, eighteenth centuries to retain high singing voice: castrato

• manager or director of opera company: impresario

• midrange male voice: baritone

• repetition of theme sung in succession by two or more: call and answer

• short vocal solo: cavatina

see music, singing, song, voice