What does "recitative" mean?

dialogue, in an opera etc, that, rather than being sung as an aria, is reproduced with the rhythms of normal speech, often with simple musical accompaniment or harpsichord continuo, serving to expound the plot.

What is a synonym for "recitative"?

Common synonyms include: aria, bravura, cantabile, coloratura, solo.

How do you pronounce "recitative"?

Pronounced //ɹɛsɪtəˈtiːv//.

Recitative

//ɹɛsɪtəˈtiːv// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
dialogue, in an opera etc, that, rather than being sung as an aria, is reproduced with the rhythms of normal speech, often with simple musical accompaniment or harpsichord continuo, serving to expound the plot.
"In Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, Bunthorne performs the recitative "Am I Alone and Unobserved?" before going on to his solo aria "If You're Anxious For To Shine"."
2
a vocal passage of narrative text that a singer delivers with natural rhythms of speech wordnet

Adjective

1
of a recital

Synonyms

All synonyms

aria bravura cantabile coloratura solo

Antonyms

All antonyms

ariose

Example

More examples

"In Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, Bunthorne performs the recitative "Am I Alone and Unobserved?" before going on to his solo aria "If You're Anxious For To Shine"."

Etymology

From Italian recitativo, from recitare, from Latin recitō.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.