Midterm Flashcards
adagio
The second section of an aria or duet, typically slow and referred to by its tempo indication (sometimes called a cantabile in an aria)
accento comune
the patterned last accent of a line of verse (penultimate syllable of a piano line. Any accents befoer hte accento commune are secondary and their placement is variable based on line length
Aida
December 24 1871
aria
an entire number in which the text form and musical organization emphasize the dominant role of a single character, typically including a scena, cantabile, tempo di mezzo, and cabaletta
arioso
vocal music that is more melodic than recitative but less formal than an aria
ballo in maschera, Un
“A Masked Ball” opera in three acts by Verdi that premiered on February 17, 1859
Barezzi, Antonio
Verdi’s patron and father-in-law
Marghertia Barezzi
Verdi’s wife
Basevi Abramo
Italian musicologist published his study of Verdi’s operas in Florence in 1859
Arrigo Boito
Italian librettist worked on Otello and Falstaff
Busseto
Verdi’s home
Cabaletta
the faster, more animated closing section of an aria or duet
cadenza irregular
Lines in which cadences can appear anywhere in a line
Cadenza regulore
lines in which cadences only appear at the end and the syntax aims toward the end
Cammarano Salvadore
Italian librettist who wrote Alzira, La battalia di Legnano, and Luisa Miller, plus part of Il trovatore before death.
Cantabile
the second section of an aria; literally means “singable” or “songlike”
cavatina
a principal singer’s opening aria
coda
optional concluding space after all textual lines have been sung and brought to a PAC, often involving emphatic line repetitions and includes a cadenza; literally means “tail”
codetta
coda-like passage occuring at the close of an internal section
decasillabo
10 syllable line
dieresi
Vowels are separated and count as two syllables
distico
2 line stanza
doppio quinario
(5+5) syllable lines
doppio senario
6+6 syllable lines
endecasillabo
11 syllable count line
Falstaff
February 9, 1893
Forza del desino, La
November 10, 1862
Ghislanzoni, Antonio
Italian Journalist and poet, wrote libretto for Aida and revised bersion of forza del destino
groundswell
A pattern used by Bellini, Donzetti, and Verdi near the ends of certain slow movmeents in finales and other large ensembles; typically features four sections: 1. regular alternation of tonic and dominant harmonies, 2 contrasting, tension-building phrase involving sequential harmonic progressions with rising revle and bass lines, 3 grandiose cadential descent (often circle of firths) 4 repetition of the whole series for an added sense of weight and expansiveness
Le Roncole
Village in which Verdi was born
Macbeth
March 14, 1847
Victor Maurel
French operatic baritone. His most memorable achievements were Otello and Falstaff in the respective world premieres of both works
Nabucco
March 3, 1846
Oberto
November 17, 1839
Otello
February 5, 1887
ottava
8 lines long, two quatrains, the most customary length for adagio and cabaletta texts (stanza)
ottonario
8 syllable line count
parlante armonico
the voice does not have its own melody, and instead provides counterpoint to the accompaniment (do not say this during cantabile) (more spoken speech)
parlante melodico
the dominant melody is in the orchestra, but the voice may follow in thirds, sixths, or octives
piano
Most typical line ending (stressed unstressed) (Sereno)
Piave Francesco Maria
Librettist worked with Verdi to create Rigoletto, Macbeth, and La Traviata
proposta
initial solo statement of a duet or ensemble
quartina
4 line stanza, appeats to be the standard type or building block
quaternario
4 syllables per line
quinario
5 syllable lines
recitativo
musical declamation sung in the rhythm of ordinary speech, not underlaid by a regular phrase structure and continuous melody in the orchestra
recitativo obbligato
recitative accompanied by more active orchestral material
recitativo semplice
simple recitative where all the expression is in the vocal part and the orchestra merely provides occasional harmonic support
Ricordi, Guilo
Italian editor, music publisher best known for Otello and Falstaff
rigoletto
March 11, 1851
rima
rhyme at the end of a line beginning at the accented syllable
rima alternata
Alternating rhyme (ab ab cd cd)
rima baciata
kissing rhyme (aa bb cc)
rima incatenata
chained rhyme (aba bab cdc)
rima incrociata
crossed rhyme ( ab ba cd cd)
rima piano
rhyme of a parola piana (word with piano ending)
rima sdrucciolo
rhyme of a parola sdrucciola
rima tronca
rhyme of a parola tronca
rimalmezzo
rhyme occurring somewhere other than at the end of the line
Risorgimento
Nineteenth century movement for Italian unification inspired by the realities of the new economic and political forces at work after 1815 (Verdi demonstrated a sympathy with the movement in his early operas) (He also participated briefly as an elected politician)
risposta
responding solo statement of a duet or ensemble, which may be complimentary or contrasting
ritornello
intervening section of a cabeletta, featuring orchestra along or simalecommentary by another character or the chorus, designed to set up the return of the cabaletta stanza; not necessarily recurring
Rossini, Giochino
Predecessor of Verdi, Opera writer of the romantic period The Barber of Seville and William Tell
Sant’ Agata
Verdi’s home village for most of his life, Sant’Agata di Villanova, Emilia-Romagna region at a home called “Villa Verdi”
scena
opening portion of recitative typically featuring versi sciolti with kinetic introductory dramatic material
sdrucciolo
two stressed syllable ending (Placida)
senario
six syllable line
sestina
6 lines long stanza often divisable into distich and quatrain
settenario
7 syllable lines
sinalefe
the flowing together two vowels at the end of one word and the beginning of the next word to count as only one syllable (elision)
sineresi
The flowing together of vowels within a word to count as one syllable
Solera, Temistocle
Librettist of nabucco (locked in a room) Attila
solita forma
formal design of scenes found during the bell canto era
Somma, Antonio
Italian playwright and librettist well known for Un ball in maschera
Strepponi, Guiseppina
Italian Soprano promoted Verdi’s first opera, Oberto
Stretta
fast, closing section ofa concertato ensemble, comparable to a cabaletta
Tamagno, Francesco
First singer to perform title role in Verdi’s Otello and performed Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera
Teatro alla Scala
Theater in Milan Italy. Hosted premiere of Otello and Flastaff. Hosted many first productions but he did not allow his work to be played here for a time
tempo d’attaco
section of versi lirici in duets and ensembles coming before the adagio and after the scena
Tempo di mezzo
the section of an aria separating the adagio and the cabaletta, dramatically introducing new actions, issues, or characters
terzina
3 lines long stanza
tinta
small recurring themes throughout Verdi operas For example, fire melody or oom pa pa
La Traviata
March 6, 1853
tronco
stressed syllable ending “Sembro”
Il trovatore
January 19, 1853
Versi Lirici
lines grouped into a stanza or set of stanzas, usually rhymed and with. aregular syllable-count
Versi Sciolti
ungrouped lines with an unpredictable mixture of 11 and 7 generally without rhymes, typical of the scena action of arias, duets, etc.
Viva V.E.R.D.I meaning
acronym of Vittorio Emanuel of the Italian unification movment names after Verdi “Long live Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy.”
Liason de scene
eliding scenes (For example, finale of Il Trovatore)
