Intermezzo

In music, an intermezzo (Italian pronunciation: [ˌintɛrˈmɛddzo], plural: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term has had several different usages, which fit into two general categories: the opera intermezzo and the instrumental intermezzo. The Renaissance intermezzo (plural: intermezzi) w... More

In music, an intermezzo (Italian pronunciation: [ˌintɛrˈmɛddzo], plural: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term has had several different usages, which fit into two general categories: the opera intermezzo and the instrumental intermezzo. The Renaissance intermezzo (plural: intermezzi) was also called the intermedio. It was a masque-like dramatic piece with music, which was performed between the acts of a play at Italian court festivities on special occasions, especially weddings. By the late 16th century, the intermezzo had become the most spectacular form of dramatic performance, and an important precursor to opera. The most famous examples were created for Medici weddings in 1539, 1565, and 1589. The intermezzo, in the 18th century, was a comic operatic interlude inserted between acts or scenes of an opera seria. These...

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