Editing Italian overture

{{Short description|Opening orchestral music for operas, operettas and other large scale works}}
The '''Italian overture''' is a piece of [[orchestra]]l [[music]] which opened several [[opera]]s, [[oratorio]]s and other large-scale works in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

An Italian overture typically has a three-[[movement (music)|movement]] structure<ref>{{cite book|author=Don Michael Randel|title=The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1999|page=486}}</ref> – the outer movements are quick, the middle movement is slow.

This type of overture was particularly popular among Italian composers such as [[Alessandro Scarlatti]], and in the early 18th century would usually be called ''[[sinfonia]]''. Later, to avoid confusion with other types of sinfonia/[[symphony]], the term ''Italian overture'' was used more frequently.

The structure of the Italian overture/sinfonia was the base from which the [[Classical period (music)|classical]] [[multi-movement]] cycle - used in genres including the [[symphony]], [[concerto]], and [[sonata]] - developed around the middle of the 18th century. For more about the (18th century) relationship between ''Italian'' overtures, other types of overtures (e.g. the ''[[French overture]]'') and early symphonies, see [[sinfonia]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Overture}}
[[Category:Musical forms]]
[[Category:Opera terminology]]


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