=Air= or =Aria=. An operatic scene for a single voice; they were of many kinds, with titles defining the class to which they belonged in the operas of Handel’s day. Among these titles may be mentioned the “Aria all Unisono,” “Aria Cantabile,” “Aria Concertante,” “Aria da Capo,” “Aria di Bravura,” “Aria d’Imitazione,” “Aria di Mezzo Carattere,” “Aria di Portamento,” “Aria Grande,” “Aria Parlante.” =Arietta.= A short aria, of less pretension than any of the foregoing. =Ballad Opera.= A form of English opera in which old and well-known songs were used instead of new music; there was little concerted music. The best example is the _Beggar’s Opera_. =Ballet.= An entertainment of dancing, always a constituent feature of operas of a certain period. =Bolero.= A Spanish dance, often introduced into the ballet. =Cadenza.= Vocal flourishes very common in the operas of the Bellini, Rossini, and early Verdi school. =Castrati.= Male sopranos, the breaking of whose voices was prevented by artificial means. =Cavatina.= A melodious air. Faust’s solo, “Salve dimora,” is so named. =Chitarrone.= A long-stringed, double-necked lute, used by Monteverde in _Orfeo_. =Choragos.= The leader of the chorus in Greek drama. =Chorale.= A German hymn-tune. Effective use is made of chorales in Meyerbeer’s _Huguenots_. =Coloratura.= Highly ornamented vocal music, used in such places as the “Aria Concertante.” =Comic Opera.= Opera of a light nature, with a humorous story. Not to be confounded with Opera Comique. =Concerted Numbers.= The Finales and other parts of operas of the older school. When several characters are upon the stage, and the music describes a series of events or some development of the story. =Curtain Tune.= See Act Tune. =Da Capo.= A form of Aria much used by Scarlatti, in which the second part of the air was followed by a repetition of the first. =Divertissement.= A short ballet, or an instrumental intermezzo. =Ensemble.= A collection of most or all of the principal characters in an opera upon the stage at the same time. =Entree.= See Overture. =Entr’acte.= Music composed for performance between the acts. =Entrepreneur= (Fr.). The organizer or director of a series of performances. =Falsetto.= A false, artificial use of the voice, employed by men mostly for singing alto parts. =Fanfare.= A flourish of trumpets used in many operas (_Fidelio_, _Tannhäuser_, etc.).