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Music vocabulary · Genres and Styles

Opera

Meaning in music, with examples

nounCommon term

In music, opera means: A dramatic work intended for the stage in which singers perform characters and tell the story mainly through music, usually with instrumental accompaniment.

In Turkish: opera

How it is used

Used for the work, the genre and its production. An opera may contain solo numbers, ensembles, choruses and speech-like sung passages.

Example sentences

  1. The opera director asked the singers to keep moving during the ensemble scene.

    The performers coordinate acting and stage movement with their musical parts.

  2. The composer revised the opera so the final scene could be understood more clearly.

    The revision serves the dramatic narrative as well as the musical structure.

Common collocations

  • opera singer
  • stage an opera
  • opera production
  • recitativeA vocal style, especially in opera and oratorio, that follows speech-like rhythms to convey dialogue or narrative.
  • classical musicThe tradition of Western art music, including symphonies, concertos, operas and chamber music, usually written down in detailed scores and performed by trained musicians.
  • vocalsThe singing parts of a piece of music, especially in pop, rock and jazz. The main singer sings the lead vocals, and others sing the backing vocals.

More terms: Genres and Styles

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