Cabaletta

Cabaletta

A Cabaletta is form of aria within 19th century Italian opera. It usually refers specifically to the second half of a double aria: a faster or more rhythmic movement following a cantabile section, nowadays often referred to as the "cavatina".

The cabaletta formed as part of an evolution from early 19th century arias containing two contrasting sections at different tempi within a single structure into more elaborate arias with musically distinct movements. The term itself was first defined in 1826. It has a repetitive structure consisting of two stanzas followed by embellished variations. The cabaletta typically ends with a coda, often a very virtuosic one.

Classic examples include "Vien diletto, è in ciel la luna" from "I Puritani" by Bellini (1835) and "Non più mesta" from "La Cenerentola" by Rossini (1817).

In later parlance, cabaletta came to refer to the fast final part of any operatic vocal ensemble, usually a duet, rather than just a solo aria: the duet between Gilda and Rigoletto in "Rigoletto" ends with a relatively slow cabaletta.

The Cabaletta is often used to convey strong emotions: overwhelming happiness (Linda's famous cabaletta "O luce di quest anima" from Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix"), great sorrow (Lucia's "Spargi d'amaro pianto" from "Lucia di Lammermoor"), timeless love (Lindoro's short cabaletta from Rossini's "L'italiana in Algeri"). Cabaletta is one of the most important elements in opera, particularly in belcanto opera: Rossini, for example, wrote at least one or even more cabalettas for all major characters in his operas (for example, "L'italiana in Algeri" contains two cabalettas for Lindoro, three cabalettas for Isabella, one cabaletta for Mustafa, and one for Taddeo; and if we add the final parts of the ensembles: we get almost sixteen cabalettas).

Giuseppe Verdi continued to adapt the aria-cabaletta formula to great emotional and dramatic effect, as in Violetta's pensive "È strano! è strano..." ("La traviata", I, v) which leads by degrees to her resolve, "Sempre libera", with its rapid and defiant pyrotechnics.

References

*Budden, Julian. "Cabaletta." "Grove Music Online," http://www.grovemusic.com.
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9018423/cabaletta Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cabaletta]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cabaletta — (frz. cavalette, von ital. cobbola: „Strophe“) ist ein Begriff für eine Arienform oder für einen Schluss Satz in einer Arie. Im 18. Jahrhundert ist eine Cabaletta eine kurze, einfache Arie, die aus einer Strophe besteht. Seit dem frühen 19.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • cabaletta — ⇒CABALETTA, CABALETTE, subst. fém. MUS. Phrase musicale facile à retenir, généralement placée à la fin d un morceau. Les fossoyeurs de Beethoven terminent leur duo [dans « Fidelio »] sans coda, sans cabalette, sans éclat de voix (H. BERLIOZ, À… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cabaletta — (ital.), in der italienischen Musik der in einem größeren Tonstück, bes. einer Arie, vorkommende, vorzüglich cantable u. dem Gehör schmeichelnde Zwischensatz …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Cabaletta — (ital., wohl verderbt aus Cavatinetta), soviel wie kleine Arie, Liedchen …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cabaletta — Cabaletta, bei den Italienern kurzer Satz für das Klavier, der eine Melodie zuerst einfach, dann mit Verzierungen gibt …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • cabaletta — (izg. kabalȅta/kabàleta) ž DEFINICIJA glazb. u talijanskim operama krajem 18. i u 19. st. naziv za kraću ariju ETIMOLOGIJA tal …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • cabaletta — [kä΄bä let′tä] n. [It, dim. (? altered after caballo, horse) of cobbola, refrain < Prov cobla, couplet < L copula, COPULA] the bravura section of an aria or duet …   English World dictionary

  • cabaletta — /kab euh let euh, kah beuh /; It. /kah bah let tah/, n., pl. cabalettas, cabalette / let ay/; It. / let te/. a short, operatic aria of simple form and style. [1835 45; < It, alter. of coboletta stanza, dim. of cob(b)ola, cobla stanza, couplet …   Universalium

  • Cabaletta — Ca|ba|let|ta [ka...] die; , Plur. s u. ...tten <aus gleichbed. it. cabaletta, eigtl. »lebhafte, gefällige Schlussphrase«> kleine Arie; vgl. ↑Kavatine …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • cabaletta — noun Etymology: Italian Date: 1842 1. an operatic song in simple popular style characterized by a uniform rhythm 2. the lively bravura concluding section of an extended aria or duet …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”