6 articles
Aria
Aria: Italian for 'air'; a self-contained solo vocal piece in opera, oratorio, or cantata, contrasting with recitative. Key forms include the Baroque da capo aria (ABA) and the 19th-century cavatina-cabaletta.
Bel canto
Bel canto ("beautiful singing") is the Italian vocal technique and early Romantic opera style of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, defined by legato, even registers, agility, and ornamentation.
Comic opera
Comic opera is a genre of humorous opera that developed in the early 18th century. It features alternating spoken dialogue and musical numbers across several national traditions, such as the French opéra-comique.
Operetta
Operetta is a light musical theater that emerged in Paris and Vienna in the mid-nineteenth century. The French school was comic, while the Viennese school was sentimental and dance-oriented.
Rap opera
Rap opera, also called hip hopera or rapera, is a rap or hip-hop work in operatic form, spanning stage shows, TV films like Carmen: A Hip Hopera (MTV, 2001), and narrative concept albums such as R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet.
Rock opera
Rock opera: a rock album or stage work telling a coherent story through connected songs, with characters and narrative. Key works: The Who's Tommy (1969), Jesus Christ Superstar (1970), Quadrophenia, American Idiot; distinct from concept albums and rock musicals.