Although it is used today to denote big, multi-act operas with lots of spectacle (Verdi's "Aida" comes to mind), "grand opera" really refers to a very specific type of opera seen in France in the mid-to-late 19th century. Take five acts, spectacular sets, a cast of hundreds, a massive ballet sequence (preferably in the third act), and an overblown romantic storyline—and you've got a grand opera. Example: Verdi's "Aida" and "Don Carlos"; Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots."

Literal translation: "leading motives." Musical fragments which represent dramatic elements (people, places, or things). A leitmotif develops along with the action, changing slightly in form to reflect a dramatic alteration in the person, place, or thing it represents.

Literally: "Little Book." A book containing all the words of an opera, often with an English translation. Librettos are available for sale at your friendly neighborhood opera house. Look for the guy in the lobby with the pile of little books.

In the spirit of the genre, we were going to leave this one blank, or just have a short definition that repeated over and over...seriously though. Minimalism uses extremely simple musical material, repeated over and over, repeated over and over. The school started as a response to the complexities and serialism of much 20th-century music. Major minimalist composers include Philip Glass, John Adams, and Steve Reich. Example: Glass' "Music in 12 Parts."

A courtly dance movement, frequently used in symphonies. The minuet eventually faded into obscurity, replaced by the more expressive scherzo. Like the scherzo, a minuet is three sections—with a contrasting central part called a "trio." Example: Many of Haydn's symphonies feature the minuet form.

Modes are a generic term for 12 types of scales or melodies with a one-octave range. They have exotic, proto-Greek names like Mixylodian, Hyperborean, Hypoaeolean, and Phrygian. Beyond that, the definition gets long and technical. Modes can also be used to indicate scales and melodies which are apart from the normal tonal system, as heard in the music of Messiaen and Miles Davis. Example: Messiaen's "Turangalila-symphonie."

Sounds recorded from nature which are electronically manipulated to create music. The grandfather of sampling. Example: Stockhausen's "Gesang der Junglinge."

In the 19th century, composers like Wagner attempted to bring the seriousness of ancient Greek drama back to the operatic stage. Example: Strauss' "Elektra."

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, musicians, taking pride in the countries they were from, started to incorporate folk melodies and write works evoking the spirits of countries such as Finland (Sibelius), Norway (Grieg), Chopin (Poland), Russia (Mussorgsky), Bohemia (Dvorak and Smetana), Italy (Verdi), and England (Vaughan Williams). Example: Sibelius' "Finlandia"; Chopin's Polanaises; Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain."

A dramatic work for the stage with music, on a serious or comic subject. Operas can be sung in any language. Examples: Ummm...try clicking here.

Italian comic opera—usually from the early 19th century. Example: Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia."

Opera in French, with a light-hearted subject and spoken dialogue. The first opera-comique to have a tragic ending was "Carmen." Example: Bizet's "Carmen" (of course!); Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffman."

"Serious" opera. Also a stylized form (used in the Baroque era) where feelings are expressed in arias and plot is advanced only through the use of recitative. Example: Handel's "Partenope."

A light, comic work with sung opera-style numbers and spoken dialogue. Example: Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus"; Lehar's "The Merry Widow"; anything by Gilbert and Sullivan.

A dramatic work, usually with a religious subject, which presents singers in formal attire (not in costume) and an orchestra onstage. Usually performed in a concert hall. Example: Handel's "Messiah."

A short one-movement "curtain raiser" played at the start of an opera, or a one-movement work for orchestra. The modern symphony evolved out of opera overtures, which used to have multiple movements. The difference between an Overture and a Prelude is that the Prelude flows directly into the main musical body of the opera. Example: Rossini's "William Tell" Overture.

Part of the "authenticity" movement, this is music played on old-style instruments from the composer's period—natural horns, woodwinds with plain finger-holes, harpsichords, etc.

(German: "Vorspiel.") Either a short character piece for piano, or an orchestral passage at the start of an opera which flows into the beginning of the action without interruption. Example: Prelude to Wagner's "Parsifal."