Aria – Italian for “air,” an aria is a song for a solo voice with instrumental accompaniment.  They’re songs that are more musically elaborate and vocally demanding.

Arioso – A song that is between an aria and a recitative, having a melody like an aria, but advancing the plot like a recitative.

Baritone – The medium male voice.

Bass – The lowest male voice.

Bass-Baritone – The male voice that combines the quality of the baritone with the depth of the bass.

Bravo! – The Italian word shouted by the audience after an outstanding performance.

Cadenza – A series of fast, difficult high notes at the end of an aria.

Cantata – Musical form based on a narrative text for either chorus or soloists.

Canzone – A short, lyrical operatic song.

Conductor – The person who directs rehearsals and performances by an orchestra, band, chorus or opera company.  It is there job to shape the opera and discover the most compelling and exciting way to perform the piece.

Contralto – The lowest, and rarest, female voice.

Countertenor – A high male voice in the same range as a contralto or mezzo-soprano.

Crescendo – Getting progressively louder.

Diminuendo – Getting progressively softer.

Diva – Meaning “goddess,” it refers to a female opera star.  Used to describe a fussy and demanding singer.

Duet – A musical composition for two singers.

Encore! – A request from the audience to play again.

Ensemble – Meaning “together,” it is a duet, trio, quartet or chorus of characters singing at the same time.

Entr’acte – A musical composition played between acts or scenes of an opera.

Falsetto – The high part of a man’s voice that sounds like a woman’s.

Finale – The last song of an act.

Finale ultimo – The last song of the opera.

Grand Opera – An opera that is sung from start to finish with no spoken dialogue.

Libretto – Meaning “little book,” it is the text of the opera.

Maestro – Italian for “master,” it is a title of courtesy given to conductors, composers and directors.

Mezza voce – Italian for “medium voice,” it is the reducing of the volume of the voice to intensify emotion.

Mezzo soprano – Female voice between soprano and contralto.

Opera buffa – Italian for “comic opera”

Orchestra – The group of musicians who accompany a staged performance.

Orchestra Pit – The area in front of,, and slightly beneath, the stage where the orchestra sits.

Overture – The instrumental introduction to an opera which incorporates themes to be heard later in the opera.

Prelude – The instrumental introduction to an individual act in an opera.

Prima Donna – Italian for “first lady,” it refers to the female star of the opera.

Range – The division of the human voice into six types; soprano, mezzo soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone and bass.

Soprano – The highest female voice.

Sotto Voce – Meaning “under the voice,” it is a musical direction for a performer to sing or play in a subdued manner.

Tempo – The speed of a musical passage or composition.

Tenor - The highest male voice.