intermezzo

intermezzo . 1 Any theatrical entertainment of a light nature performed between the divisions of a longer, more serious work. 2 In the 17th and 18th cent., a short independent comic scene with everyday characters was interpolated between acts of serious operas. In the 18th cent. it developed into opera buffa (see opera ); a famous example is Pergolesi 's La serva padrona. 3 In the 19th cent., a short independent piece having the character of an interlude, or a movement of such character in a larger work such as a symphony or sonata. It was a favorite form of Schumann and Brahms.

intermezzo (mus.) piece intervening between two main parts of a composition. XIX. — It. — L. intermedius (see prec.).

Intermezzo (Intermedio), interpolation of a light, often comic, character performed between the acts of serious dramas or operas in Italy in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. They usually dealt with mythological or classical subjects, and could be given as independent entertainments for guests at royal or noble festivals, on the lines of the English disguising and dumb-show, the French momerie and entremets, or the Spanish entremés.