Glossary

General

Aficionado
Someone to avoid at all times when talking opera.
Aria
A solo moment for the singer, a song.
Bel canto
This translates from the Italian as 'beautiful singing' but is a commonly misused term. Correctly, it refers to a musical and vocal style when drama and perfect singing technique were considered at its peak. These days bel canto means anything from singing fast and high to low and slow. The most eloquent usage comes from the divine Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh, internationally renowned traumatic soprano, who declares that the vocal life of a soprano has four stages: '1. Bel canto, 2. Can belto, 3.Can't belto, 4. Can't canto'.
Cabaletta
The bit following an aria where the singer suddenly changes his/her mind and sings a more rhythmic tune over a rumpty-tum orchestral accompaniment. If there is a repeat of this cabaletta the singer is advised to embellish the tune with extra notes which appear to the listener to be improvised - but in reality it is well rehearsed. Our heroine, Maria Callas, commented that the first cabaletta was for the composer, the second was for Callas.
Cadence
An harmonic comma or full stop.
Coda
That's all, folks!
Coloratura
The fast runny bits that sometimes thrill an audience.
Comprimario
A performer who specialises in character roles. Although frequently not possessing the most beautiful voice on the stage, this is the person who sometimes supplies the laughs and the irritations.
Continuo
A harpsichord, fortepiano or any museum-type keyboard instrument that plays with the singer during recitatives to keep them in pitch. Continuo players are encouraged to be inventive and embellish their music to enhance the onstage action.
Heldentenor
A dramatic tenor who specialises in the German repertoire. Some opera authorities believe that they are related to the dodo - long extinct.
Interval
A 20-minute pause between acts where you can catch up with friends in the foyer for a drink and chat about anything not related to the performance in hand, or indeed the time to leave a bad performance. Life's too short.
Leitmotif (tr. 'leading motif' or recurring musical fragment)
The little snippet of a recurring tune which composers, especially Richard Wagner, used to remind you of a specific character or dramatic moment in the opera.
Maestro
God.
Manuscript
The original scribblings of the composer - the holy paper chalice.
Metronome
Mechanical device that produces a regulated beat, measured in beats-per-minute, which enables a performer to play the exact speed that's marked on the sheet music. It's the thing I hated most when I started out learning the piano. It would suddenly go faster or slower than I was playing!
Motif
Tunes, or fragments of tunes, that represent a particular character or emotion. Their use can suggest a character who is not even on stage at the time.
Obbligato
An instrumental solo that occurs at the same time as someone is singing. It's like a duet with your favourite instrument.
Podium
The sacred spot in the orchestra pit where the conductor stands. Great performances, not necessarily musical, are regularly seen on this small rise.
Proscenium arch
The archway between the audience and the stage. It's the sometimes elaborate frame that borders the curtain. If you're a performer onstage and not behind the prosarch when the curtain comes down, you're going to be very embarrassed.
Recitative
The 'talky' bits between the arias and ensembles. Sometimes there's a tinny harpsichord playing at the same time.
Repertoire
Scheduled operas in an opera company's season - or the roles an artist would like to sing.
Repetiteur
A musician (often reluctant to be in the public eye) who resembles Rossini's Figaro - a master of all trades. Simply translated, a repetiteur 'repeats' until it's learnt! Not only does he (or she) teach the singers their roles and oversees standards of musicianship and diction, but they also play piano at staging rehearsals, work backstage during performances and assist the conductor. They are also scapegoats for any problems between maestro and artist!
Squillo
The core or edge of the voice that can cut through an orchestra like a sabre.
Stretta
The bit at the end of a musical section that speeds up to boiling point.
Tessitura
The vocal range where the role or aria sits. With most singers, it's always too high.
Testosterone
The manly juice that makes a singer sexy.
Verismo
'True to life' opera plots that have fairly passionate vocal outbursts with lots of yelling, crying and death.
Vibrato
An expressive and technically modulated vocal tool created by the flow of air as it passes the vocal folds. Used in excess, it can wobble out of control - thus making it hard to distinguish what pitch is intended. In the hands of a sensitive vocal artist, it can resemble the artistry of a fine instrumentalist.

Ensembles

Duet
When one singer is joined by a second singer.
Trio
The stage is getting a little crowded.
Quartet
Far too many egos on stage for one man to handle.
Quintet
Not interested.
Sextet
Let's have fun.

Dynamics

Pianissimo
Very soft - a dynamic never used or understood by an opera singer.
Piano
Soft - or a little softer than you sang the last phrase.
Mezzo piano
Half soft (are you kidding?).
Mezzo forte
Half loud (give me a break!).
Forte
A general volume for a singer.
Fortissimo
Very loud (just in case my fans in the back row can't hear me).