Preghiera
Prayer scene in opera.
What it means
Preghiera (Italian for "prayer") denotes in opera a prayer scene, usually shaped as an aria, ensemble or chorus. It interrupts the dramatic action with a moment of calm and inwardness. The tone is usually sustained, the melody simple and solemn, often at a moderate or slow tempo.
Musical use
Prayers are among the fixed components of 19th-century Italian opera. Famous examples are Rossini's chorus Dal tuo stellato soglio in Mosè in Egitto and Desdemona's Ave Maria in Verdi's Otello (1887). The preghiera lets the characters come to rest at the moment of greatest need and gives the audience the chance to place the drama in perspective.
The preghiera should be distinguished from the liturgical music of the Mass, which belongs to worship, and from an ordinary aria, which does not expressly depict a prayer.
Performance practice
When you sing a preghiera, shape the tone calmly, intimately and in a long arch. Avoid dramatic harshness and let the devotion be audible in the line.