View source for Overture

{{Short description|Instrumental introduction to an opera, ballet, or oratorio}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Ouverture}}

'''Overture''' (from [[French language|French]] ''ouverture'', {{abbr|lit.|literally}} "opening") is a [[music]] [[instrumental]] introduction to a [[ballet]], [[opera]], or [[oratorio]] in the 17th century.<ref name="auto1">{{harvnb|Temperley|2001}}</ref> During the early [[Romantic era]], composers such as [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] and [[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]] composed overtures which were independent, self-existing, instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the [[symphonic poem]]. These were "at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme".<ref>{{harvnb|Blom|1954}}</ref>

The idea of an instrumental opening to [[opera]] existed during the 17th century. [[Jacopo Peri|Peri]]'s ''[[Euridice (Peri)|Euridice]]'' opens with a brief instrumental [[ritornello]], and [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]]'s ''[[L'Orfeo]]'' (1607) opens with a [[toccata]], in this case a [[fanfare]] for muted [[trumpet]]s. More important was the prologue, consisting of sung dialogue between [[Allegory|allegorical]] characters which introduced the overarching themes of the stories depicted.<ref>{{harvnb|Carter|n.d.}}</ref>

== French overture ==
{{Main|French overture}}

As a [[musical form]], the French overture first appears in the court ballet and operatic overtures of [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]],<ref>{{harvnb|Waterman and Anthony|2001}}</ref> which he elaborated from a similar, two-section form called ''ouverture'', found in the French [[ballets de cour]] as early as 1640.<ref name="auto1"/> This French overture consists of a slow introduction in a marked "dotted rhythm" (i.e., exaggerated [[Iamb (foot)|iambic]], if the first chord is disregarded), followed by a lively movement in [[fugato]] style. The overture is frequently followed by a series of dance tunes before the curtain rises,{{sfn|Tovey|1911|p=385}} and often returns following the Prologue to introduce the action proper. This ouverture style was also used in English opera, most notably [[Henry Purcell]]'s ''[[Dido and Æneas]]''. Its distinctive rhythmic profile and function thus led to the French overture style found in the works of late Baroque composers such as [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], [[Georg Friedrich Händel]], and [[Georg Philipp Telemann]]. The style is most often used in [[Prelude (music)|prelude]]s to [[suite (music)|suite]]s, and can be found in non-staged vocal works such as [[cantata]]s, for example in the opening chorus of [[Bach cantata|Bach's cantata]] ''[[Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61]]''. [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] also uses the French overture form in some of his Italian operas, such as ''[[Giulio Cesare]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Burrows|2012|loc={{Page needed|date=June 2013}}}}</ref>

== Italian overture ==
{{Main|Italian overture}}

In Italy, a distinct form called "overture" arose in the 1680s, became established particularly through the operas of [[Alessandro Scarlatti]], and spread throughout Europe, supplanting the French form as the standard operatic overture by the mid-18th century.<ref name="auto2">{{harvnb|Fisher|2001}}</ref> Its stereotypical form is in three generally [[homophony|homophonic]] [[Movement (music)|movements]]: fast–slow–fast. The opening movement is normally in duple metre and a major key; the slow movement in earlier examples is usually quite short, and sometimes in a contrasting key; the concluding movement is dancelike, most often with rhythms of the [[gigue]] or [[minuet]], and returns to the key of the opening section. As the form evolved, the first movement often incorporated fanfare-like elements and took on the pattern of so-called "sonatina form" ([[sonata form]] without a development section), and the slow section became more extended and lyrical.<ref name="auto2"/> Italian overtures were often detached from their operas and played as independent concert pieces. In this context, they became important in the early history of the [[symphony]].<ref>{{harvnb|Larue|2001}}</ref>

== 18th century ==
Prior to the 18th century, the symphony and the overture were almost interchangeable, with overtures being extracted from operas to serve as stand-alone instrumental works, and symphonies being tagged to the front of operas as overtures.<ref>{{harvnb|Taruskin|n.d.|loc={{Page needed|date=November 2016}}}}</ref> With the reform of ''opera seria,'' the overture began to distinguish itself from the symphony, and composers began to link the content of overtures to their operas dramatically and emotionally.  Elements from the opera are foreshadowed in the overture, following the reform ideology that the music and every other element on stages serves to enhance the plot.  One such overture was that of ''[[La Magnifique]]'' by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, in which several of the arias are quoted.<ref>{{harvnb|Charlton and Bartlet|n.d.}}</ref> This "[[Medley (music)|medley]] form" persists in the overtures to many works of [[musical theatre]] written in the 20th and 21st centuries.

== 19th-century opera ==
In 19th-century opera the overture, ''Vorspiel'', ''Einleitung,'' Introduction, or whatever else it may be called, is generally nothing more definite than that portion of the music which takes place before the curtain rises. [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''Vorspiel'' to ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' is a short self-contained movement founded on the music of the Grail.{{sfn|Tovey|1911|p=385}}

In Italian opera after about 1800, the "overture" became known as the ''sinfonia''.<ref name="auto">{{harvnb|Fisher|1998}}</ref> Fisher also notes the term ''Sinfonia avanti l'opera'' (literally, the "symphony before the opera") was "an early term for a sinfonia used to begin an opera, that is, as an overture as opposed to one serving to begin a later section of the work".<ref name="auto"/>

==Concert overture==
===Early 19th century===
Although by the end of the eighteenth century opera overtures were already beginning to be performed as separate items in the concert hall,  the "concert overture", intended specifically as an individual concert piece without reference to stage performance and generally based on some literary theme, began to appear early in the [[Romantic era]]. [[Carl Maria von Weber]] wrote two concert overtures, ''Der Beherrscher der Geister'' ('The Ruler of the Spirits', 1811, a revision of the overture to his unfinished opera ''[[Rübezahl]]'' of 1805), and ''Jubel-Ouvertüre'' ('Jubilee Overture', 1818, incorporating ''[[God Save the King]]'' at its climax).

However, the overture ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (1826) by [[Felix Mendelssohn]] is generally regarded as the first concert overture.<ref name="auto1"/> Mendelssohn's other contributions to this genre include his ''[[Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Mendelssohn)|Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage]]'' overture (1828), his overture ''[[The Hebrides (overture)|The Hebrides]]'' (1830; also known as ''Fingal's Cave'') and the overtures ''[[Die schöne Melusine]]'' (''The Fair Melusine'', 1834) and ''Ruy Blas'' (1839).  Other notable early concert overtures were written by [[Hector Berlioz]] (e.g., ''[[Les francs-juges|Les Francs juges]]'' (1826), and ''[[Overtures by Hector Berlioz#Le corsaire|Le corsaire]]'' (1828)).

===Later 19th century===
In the 1850s the concert overture began to be supplanted by the [[symphonic poem]], a form devised by [[Franz Liszt]] in several works that began as dramatic overtures. The distinction between the two genres was the freedom to mould the musical form according to external [[Program music|programmatic]] requirements.<ref name="auto1"/> The symphonic poem became the preferred form for the more "progressive" composers, such as [[César Franck]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], [[Richard Strauss]], [[Alexander Scriabin]], and [[Arnold Schoenberg]], while more conservative composers like [[Anton Rubinstein]], [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]], [[Johannes Brahms]], [[Robert Schumann]] and [[Arthur Sullivan]] remained faithful to the overture.<ref name="auto1"/>
[[File:Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky_-_1812_overture.ogg|thumb|right|Tchaikovsky's ''1812 Overture'']]
In the age when the symphonic poem had already become popular, Brahms wrote his ''[[Academic Festival Overture]]'', Op. 80, as well as his ''[[Tragic Overture]]'', Op. 81. An example clearly influenced by the symphonic poem is Tchaikovsky's ''[[1812 Overture]]''. His equally well-known ''[[Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' is also labelled a 'fantasy-overture'.

===20th century===
In European music after 1900, an example of an overture displaying a connection with the traditional form is [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]'s ''[[Festive Overture (Shostakovich)|Festive Overture]]'', Op. 96 (1954), which is in two linked sections, "Allegretto" and "Presto" (Temperley 2001). [[Malcolm Arnold]]'s ''A Grand, Grand Overture'', Op. 57 (1956), is a 20th-century parody of the late 19th century concert overture, scored for an enormous orchestra with organ, additional [[brass instrument]]s, and [[obbligato]] parts for four [[rifle]]s, three [[The Hoover Company|Hoover]] [[vacuum cleaner]]s (two uprights in B{{music|flat}}, one horizontal with detachable sucker in C), and an electric [[floor polisher]] in E{{music|flat}}; it is dedicated "to [[Herbert Hoover|President Hoover]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Anon.|1957}}; {{harvnb|Maycock|2009}}; {{harvnb|Burton-Page|n.d.}}</ref>

One song of [[the Who]]'s [[rock opera]] ''Tommy'' is designated as "Underture".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ratherrarerecords.com/underture/|title=If You Have An Overture, Do You Also Need An Underture?|date=October 3, 2018|website=www.ratherrarerecords.com}}</ref>{{sfn|Atkins|2000|pp=121–122}}

==Film==
In [[motion pictures]], an overture is a [[incidental music|piece of music]] setting the mood for the film before the [[opening credits]] start. Famous examples include [[Gone with the Wind (film)|''Gone with the Wind'']] (1939) and [[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|''Lawrence of Arabia'']] (1962). For a comprehensive list, see the [[list of films with overtures]].

==List of standard repertoire==
Some well-known or commonly played overtures:

{{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}}
* [[Anton Arensky]]: ''A Dream on the Volga''
* [[Malcolm Arnold]]:
** ''Beckus the Dandipratt''
** ''A Grand, Grand Overture''
** ''[[Peterloo (overture)|Peterloo]]''
** ''[[Tam O'Shanter Overture|Tam O'Shanter]]''
* [[Daniel Auber]]: ''[[Fra Diavolo (opera)|Fra Diavolo]]''
* [[Samuel Barber]]: Overture to ''[[The School for Scandal (Barber)|The School for Scandal]]''
* [[Arnold Bax]]: ''[[Overture to a Picaresque Comedy]]''
* [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]:
** ''Leonora'' Nr 1
** ''Leonora'' Nr 2
** ''Leonora'' Nr 3
** ''[[Fidelio]]''
** ''[[Coriolan Overture]]''
** ''[[The Creatures of Prometheus|Creatures of Prometheus]]''
** ''[[Egmont (Beethoven)|Egmont]]''
** ''[[The Ruins of Athens]]''
** ''[[The Consecration of the House (overture)|The Consecration of the House]]
* [[Arthur Benjamin]]
** ''[[Overture to an Italian Comedy]]''
* [[Hector Berlioz]]:
** ''[[Overtures by Hector Berlioz#Benvenuto Cellini|Benvenuto Cellini]]''
** ''[[Le carnaval romain]]''
** ''[[Overtures by Hector Berlioz#Le corsair|Le corsair]]''
** ''Les Francs-Juges''
** ''King Lear''
** ''Waverley''	
* [[Leonard Bernstein]]: ''[[Candide (operetta)|Candide]]''
* [[Georges Bizet]]: ''[[Carmen]]''
* [[Alexander Borodin]]: ''[[Prince Igor]]''
* [[Johannes Brahms]]:
** ''[[Academic Festival Overture]]''
** ''[[Tragic Overture (Brahms)|Tragic Overture]]''
* [[Anton Bruckner]]: [[Overture (Bruckner)|Overture in G minor]] (WAB 98)
* [[Aaron Copland]]: ''An Outdoor Overture''
* [[Antonín Dvořák]]: [[Carnival Overture (Dvořák)|Carnival Overture]]
* [[Edward Elgar]]:
** ''[[In the South (Alassio)]]''
** ''Cockaigne''
** ''Froissart''
* [[George Gershwin]]: 
** ''[[Cuban Overture]]''
** Overture to ''[[Strike Up the Band (musical)|Strike Up the Band]]''
* [[Philip Glass]]:
** ''Overture 2012''
** ''King Lear Overture''
* [[Mikhail Glinka]]: ''[[Ruslan and Lyudmila (opera)|Ruslan and Lyudmila]]''
* [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]]:
** ''[[Iphigénie en Tauride]]''
** ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]''
** ''[[Alceste (Gluck)|Alceste]]''
* [[Antônio Carlos Gomes]]: ''Il Guarany''
* [[Edvard Grieg]]: ''[[In Autumn]]''
* [[George Frideric Handel]]
** Overture to the ''[[Music for the Royal Fireworks]]''
** Overture to the ''[[Water Music]]''
** Overture to ''[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]] and other Oratorios''
* [[Joseph Haydn]]: ''[[Armida (Haydn)|Armida]]''
* [[Ferdinand Hérold]]: ''Zampa''
* [[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]]:
** ''A London Overture''
** ''Satyricon'' Overture
* [[Édouard Lalo]]: ''Le roi d'Ys''
* [[Franz Lehár]]: ''[[The Merry Widow]]''
* [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]:
**  "Overture from Phantom of the Opera"
* [[Hamish MacCunn]]: ''[[The Land of the Mountain and the Flood]]''
* [[Felix Mendelssohn]]:
** ''[[The Hebrides (overture)|The Hebrides]]'' (or ''Fingal's Cave'')
** ''[[Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Mendelssohn)|Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage]]''
** ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''
** ''Ruy Blas''
** ''[[Die schöne Melusine]]'' (The Fair Melusine)
* [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]:
** ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]''
** ''[[La clemenza di Tito]]''
** ''[[Così fan tutte]]''
** ''[[Don Giovanni]]''
** ''[[Idomeneo]]''
** ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]''
** ''[[The Magic Flute]]''
* [[Modest Mussorgsky]]: ''[[Khovanshchina]]''
* [[Nikolai Myaskovsky]]:
** ''Pathetic Overture''
** ''Salutation Overture''
* [[Otto Nicolai]]: ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]''
* [[Carl Nielsen]]:
** ''[[Maskarade]]''
** ''[[Helios Overture]]''
* [[Jacques Offenbach]]: ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]''
* [[Sergei Prokofiev]]: ''[[Overture on Hebrew Themes]]''
* [[Emil von Reznicek]]: ''[[Donna Diana]]''
* [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]: 
** ''[[Russian Easter Festival Overture]]''
** ''[[The Maid of Pskov]]''
** ''[[May Night]]''
* [[Gioachino Rossini]]:
** ''[[La cambiale di matrimonio]]''
** ''[[Tancredi]]''
** ''[[Il signor Bruschino]]''
** ''[[Il turco in Italia]]''
** ''[[La Cenerentola]]''
** ''[[Semiramide]]''
** ''[[Il viaggio a Reims]]''
** ''[[The Barber of Seville]]''
** ''[[La gazza ladra]]''
** ''[[L'italiana in Algeri]]''
** ''[[La scala di seta]]''
** ''[[William Tell (opera)|William Tell]]''
* [[Franz Schubert]]:
** ''Overture in Italian Style'', D590
** ''[[Rosamunde]]''
* [[Robert Schumann]]:
** [[Overture, Scherzo and Finale]], Op 52
** ''[[Manfred (Schumann)|Manfred]]''
** ''[[Genoveva]]''
** ''Faust''
** ''[[Julius Caesar (overture)|Julius Caesar]]''
** ''Hermann und Dorothea''
** ''The Bride of Messina''
* [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]: ''[[Festive Overture (Shostakovich)|Festive Overture]]''
* [[Bedřich Smetana]]: ''[[The Bartered Bride]]''
* [[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss]]: ''[[Die Fledermaus]]''
* [[Jean Sibelius]]: Overture to ''[[The Tempest (Sibelius)|The Tempest]]''
* [[Arthur Sullivan]]:
** ''[[The Mikado]]''
** ''[[The Gondoliers]]''
** ''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]''
* [[Franz von Suppé]]
** ''[[Light Cavalry Overture]]''
** ''The Beautiful Galatea''
** ''Poet and Peasant''
* [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]:
** ''[[1812 Overture]]''
** ''[[Hamlet (Tchaikovsky)|Hamlet]]'' (Overture-Fantasy)
** ''[[Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (Overture-Fantasy)
** ''[[The Nutcracker]]'' (Miniature Overture)
* [[Giuseppe Verdi]]: 
** ''[[La forza del destino]]''
** ''[[Nabucco]]''
** ''[[I vespri siciliani]]''
* [[Richard Wagner]]:
** ''[[Faust Overture]]''
** ''[[Der fliegende Holländer|The Flying Dutchman]]''
** ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' (both Act and Act III Preludes)
** ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]''
** ''[[Rienzi]]''
** ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]''
* [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]]: ''[[The Wasps (Vaughan Williams)|The Wasps]]''
* [[William Walton]]
** ''[[Johannesburg Festival Overture]]''
** ''Scapino'' Overture
** ''[[Portsmouth Point (Walton)|Portsmouth Point]]'' Overture
* [[Carl Maria von Weber]]:
** ''[[Euryanthe]]''
** ''[[Der Freischütz]]''
** ''[[Oberon (Weber)|Oberon]]''
* [[James Barnes (composer)|James Barnes]]
** "Alvamar Overture"
** "Appalachian Overture"
{{Div col end}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist|2}}

== General and cited references ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Anon.|1957}}|reference=Anon. 1957. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080128131329/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,824825,00.html Music: Op. I for Vacuum Cleaners]" ''Time'' (April 22).}}
* {{cite book|last=Atkins|first=John|title=The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998|publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]]|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7864-0609-8}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Blom|1954}}|reference=Blom, Eric. 1954. "Overture". ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', fifth edition, edited by Eric Blom. London: Macmillan Publishers; Toronto, Canada: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Burrows|2012}}|reference=Burrows, Donald. 2012. ''Handel'', second edition. Master Musicians Series. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Burton-Page|n.d.}}|reference=Burton-Page, Piers. n.d. "[http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2432&State_3041=2&workId_3041=7041 Malcolm Arnold: ''A Grand, Grand Overture'', Programme Note]". Chester-Novello publisher's website (accessed 6 November 2009).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Carter|n.d.}}|reference={{Cite Grove |last=Carter |first=Tim |title=Prologue}}.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Charlton and Bartlet|n.d.}}|reference=Charlton, David and M. Elizabeth C. Bartlet. n.d. "Grétry, André-Ernest-Modeste." ''Grove Music Online''.''Oxford Music Online''. Oxford University Press, accessed March 29, 2016,<nowiki>http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/43361</nowiki>.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Fisher|1998}}|reference=Fisher, Stephen C. 1998. "Sinfonia". ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', four volumes, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]]. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. {{ISBN|0-333-73432-7}}.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Fisher|2001}}|reference=Fisher, Stephen C. 2001. "Italian Overture." ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]]. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Larue|2001}}|reference=Larue, Jan. 2001. "Sinfonia 2: After 1700". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]]. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Maycock|2009}}|reference=Maycock, Robert. 2009. "[http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/whatson/notes/p76_arnold.shtml What's On/Programme Notes, Malcolm Arnold (1921–2006), ''A Grand, Grand Overture'', Op. 57 (1956)]" [[BBC]] [[The Proms|Proms]] programme, Prom 76: Last Night of the Proms (Saturday 12 September).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Taruskin|n.d.}}|reference=Taruskin, Richard. n.d. Chapter 10: "[http://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume2/actrade-9780195384826-chapter-10.xml Instrumental Music Lifts Off]." In his ''Music In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries'' (Oxford History of Western Music). New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 March 2016.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Temperley|2001}}|reference=Temperley, Nicholas. 2001. "Overture". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]]. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Overture|volume=20|pages=384–385|first=Donald Francis|last=Tovey|author-link=Donald Tovey}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Waterman and Anthony|2001}}|reference=Waterman, George Gow, and James R. Anthony. 2001. "French Overture". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Overtures (music)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Overtures| ]]
[[Category:Musical terminology]]