Drama Glossary

A passage, usually at the end of a musical number, in which singers perform a few improvised measures of vocally showy music to personalise their characters and show off their virtuosity.

Male singers who retained their treble voices through a process of early castration.

A speaking voice developed by an actor that is inspired by the attributes of the character they are portraying.

The distinctive qualities of a character, including ways of speaking, behaviors, actions, motivations, and moment-to-moment choices in the piece.

Using resonance in the chest, sometimes associated with lower notes.

A group of (typically three or more) notes sounded together, as a basis of harmony.

Chords that build on or include notes that aren't part of the key.

A symbol at the beginning of the staff to determine the pitch of a particular line. It also provides reference for the pitch or key of all the notes to follow.

Elaborate ornamentation of a vocal melody.

Elaborate and decorative flourishes in operatic singing, generally by a soprano.

In the Italian Renaissance, a form of popular theatre emerged where a professional troupe of actors that used colorful stock characters, improvised dialigue, and lazzi to create entertaining stories.

Exchanging information and conversation with another through speech, behavior, or movement.