scena

views updated May 11 2018

scena (It.). Scene. Prin. meaning of this term is an elaborate concert aria for v. and orch. in several sections, like the cantatas of Haydn, A. Scarlatti, etc. Examples are Beethoven's Ah! perfido, Bliss's The Enchantress, Barber's Andromache's Farewell, and Britten's Phaedra. Other meanings are (1) a scene, subdivision of an act in opera; (2) solo operatic movt., less formal than an aria e.g. Leonore's Abscheulicher! in Beethoven's Fidelio.

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