Etymology : Middle English, literally, opening, from Middle French, from Vulgar Latin opertura, alteration of Latin apertura; more at APERTURE
Pronunciation : 'O-v&(r)-"chur, -ch&r,
Function : noun
Date : 15th century
1. piece of music that introduces a performance and is generally a medley of the music played during the performance; prelude, opening; introductory proposal, motion towards; introduction (as in a poem or play). overture\o"ver*ture\ , [of. overture, f. ouverture, fr. of. ovrir, f. ouvrir. see:
overt.].
2. an opening or aperture; a recess; a recess; a chamber. [obs.] "the cave's inmost overture.".
3. disclosure; discovery; revelation. [obs.] it was he that made the overture of thy treasons to us.
4. a proposal; an offer; a proposition formally submitted for consideration, acceptance, or rejection. "the great overture of the gospel.".
5. (mus.) a composition, for a full orchestra, designed as an introduction to an oratorio, opera, or ballet, or as an independent piece; -- called in the latter case a concert overture.overture \o"ver*ture\, v. t. to make an overture to; as, to overture a religious body on some subject.overture n.
6. orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio.
7. something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner" [syn: preliminary, prelude].
8. a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others; "she rejected his advances" [syn: advance, approach, feeler].
9. An opening or aperture; a recess; a recess; a chamber.
10. Disclosure; discovery; revelation.
11. A proposal; an offer; a proposition formally submitted for consideration, acceptance, or rejection.
12. A composition, for a full orchestra, designed as an introduction to an oratorio, opera, or ballet, or as an independent piece; called in the latter case a concert overture.
13. To make an overture to; as, to overture a religious body on some subject. orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others; "she rejected his advances".
14. 1. An overture is a piece of music, often one that is the introduction to an opera or play. The programme opened with the overture to Wagner's Flying Dutchman.
15. If you make overtures to someone, you behave in a friendly or romantic way towards them. He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. Musical introduction to a larger, often dramatic, work. Originating with Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607), overtures served as openings for operas. The large-scale two-or three-part "French overture" invented by Jean-Baptiste Lully (1658) for his operas and ballets was widely imitated for a century. The sinfonia, the standard Italian overture form in the late 17th and 18th centuries, was a principal precursor of the three-part sonata form and thus provided the model for the earliest symphonies, which consisted of three movements. In the 19th century, overtures independent of any larger work usually illustrated a literary or historical theme (see:
symphonic poem). Overtures to operettas and musicals have traditionally been medleys of their themes.