(or ', ;
[Since 1932–35 the ]French Academy
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
recommends this spelling, with no apostrophe, so historical, ceremonial and traditional uses (such as the 1924 René Clair
René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...
film title) are still spelled ''Entr'acte''. German: ' and ', Italian: ''
intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...
'', Spanish: ') means "between the acts". It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an
intermission (this is nowadays the more common meaning in French), but it more often (in English) indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production.
In the case of stage musicals, the ''entr'acte'' serves as the
overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed over ...
of act 2 (and sometimes acts 3 and 4, as in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...
''). In films that were meant to be shown with an intermission, there was frequently a specially recorded ''entr'acte'' on the soundtrack between the first and second half of the film, although this practice eventually died out.
Origin
Originally ''entr'actes'' resulted from stage curtains being closed for set or costume changes: to fill time as not to halt the dramatic action, to make a transition from the mood of one act to the next, or to prevent the public from becoming restless. In front of the closed curtains, the action could be continued during these ''entr'actes'', albeit involving only players with no scenery other than the curtain, and a minimum of
props.
An ''entr'acte'' can take the action from one part of a large-scale drama to the next by completing the missing links. The Spanish
Sainete often performed a similar function.
Role of music
In traditional theatre,
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead ...
could also bridge the 'closed curtain' periods:
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...
,
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...
and
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
each have a rich tradition of such musical interludes. The literal meaning of the German word ' refers to its original function – "change music". Eventually, ''entr'actes'' (or ''intermezzi'') would develop into a separate genre of short theatrical realizations (often with a plot completely independent from the main piece) that could be produced with a minimum of requisites during intermissions of other elaborate theatre pieces. These later ''entr'actes'' were distinctly intended to ''break'' the action or mood with something different, such as comedy or dance. Such pieces also allowed the chief players of the main piece to have a break. Eventually the idea of being an insert into a greater whole became looser: ''interlude'' sometimes has no other connotation than a "short play".
Other dramatic devices
When the insert was intended only to shift the mood before returning to the main action, without a change of scene being necessary, authors could revert to a "
play within a play
A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes ...
" technique, or have some accidental guests in a ballroom perform a dance, etc. In this case the insert is a ''
divertimento
''Divertimento'' (; from the Italian '' divertire'' "to amuse") is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the '' divertimento'' is most often lighthearted (as a result of being played at social functions) and ...
'' (the term is Italian; the French ''
divertissement'' is also used) rather than an ''entr'acte''.
In the French opera tradition of the end of the 17th century and early 18th century (
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera ...
, for example) such ''divertissements'' would become compulsory in the form of an inserted ballet passage, a tradition that continued until well into the 19th century. This was eventually parodied by
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''T ...
: for example, the
cancan ending ''
Orpheus in the Underworld
''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux, Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act "op ...
''.
By the middle of the 18th century, a ''divertimento'' had become a separate genre of light music as well. These ''divertimenti'' could be used as interludes in stage works, many of the ''divertimenti'' composed in the last half of the 18th century appears to have lost the relation to the theatre, the music in character only having to be a "diversion" in one or another way.
Examples
Some more or less elaborate or independent ''entr'actes'' or ''intermezzi'' became famous in their own right, in some cases eclipsing the theatre productions for which they were originally written:
* ''
La serva padrona
''La serva padrona'', or ''The Maid Turned Mistress'', is a 1733 intermezzo by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) to a libretto by Gennaro Federico, after the play by Jacopo Angello Nelli. It is some 40 minutes long, in two parts without ...
'', a two-act ''
opera buffa
''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...
'' by
Pergolesi, was intended to break the seriousness of his ''
opera seria
''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called '' dramma per musica'' or '' melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to a ...
'' ''Il prigioner superbo'' (1733). Eventually the ''intermezzo'' got more attention than the large-scale work to which it was added (see ''
Querelle des Bouffons'').
*
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
shows his mastery in the finale of the first act of ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spani ...
'', where he mixes the ''divertimento''-like dancing (accompanied by a small
ensemble on the scene) with the actual singing. The characters mingle, performing light dances, while they are supposed to be chasing each other for murder and rape. The diversion and the drama become a single multi-layered item.
* Bizet's opera ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...
'' has ''entr'actes'' before acts 2, 3 and 4; the one before act 3, featuring flute and harp, is often played in concert performances.
* A comparable 'filmic' interlude was foreseen in the early 1930s by
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...
for his opera ''
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...
'', between the two scenes of the central act. In this case Berg only composed the music and gave a short schematic scenario for a film, that was not yet realised when he died in 1935. The ''Lulu'' interlude film, in contrast to the previous example, was intended to chain the action between the first and second half of the opera. Because of the completely symmetrical structure of this opera, the filmic interlude of ''Lulu'' is, in a manner of speaking, the axis of the opera.
* Interludes of the ''divertimento'' kind can be found in
Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European ...
's last, sombre opera ''
From the House of the Dead'' (1928): releasing the tension after Skuratov's disheartening tale at the centre of the second act, two an "opera" and a "pantomime" within the larger opera are executed consecutively by a cast of prisoners, both presentations
farcical variations on the
Don Juan
Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...
theme, and mirroring the religious ceremony ''divertimento'' before the Skuratov tale.
* Also, the first publicly performed
furniture music composed by
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an un ...
was
premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...
d as ''entr'acte'' music (1920 – the play for which it was written fell into oblivion), with this variation that it was intended as
background music
Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
to the sounds the public would usually produce at intermission, walking around and talking. Allegedly, the public did not obey Satie's intention: they kept silently in their places and listened, trained by a habit of incidental music, much to the frustration of the ''
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
'' musicians, who tried to save their idea by inciting the public to get up, talk, and walk around.
* Most of the film adaptations of Broadway musicals feature ''entr'actes'' during the intermission, which make use of music from the production.
* Many
roadshow presentations of films from the 1950s through to the 1970s were provided with entr'actes that took the form of overtures to the second part, including most of the adaptations of Broadway musicals released at that time, but the practice soon spread to drama films. In many cases it was the same piece as was used for the overture (as in ''
Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–19 ...
'' in 1962 and ''
2001: A Space Odyssey'' in 1968), but others such as ''
Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to:
Fiction
*'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace
** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899
** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...
'' (1959) and ''
How the West Was Won'' (1962) employ different pieces.
* Many roadshow theatrical releases have the intermission/entr'acte after a major turning point during the movie. In the case of ''
Doctor Zhivago'', it is the shock from audiences that came with the identity of infamous Bolshevik commander Strelnikov.
* The 1968
British-
American film ''
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film sta ...
'' has an ''entr'acte'' mid-way into the film just after the car drives down the cliff by accident and just before Chitty sprouts wings.
* The 1970 film ''
Tora! Tora! Tora!'' was not provided with an overture in any of its releases but did feature a 107-second entr'acte, a different arrangement and orchestration of the main title.
* The 2005 film ''
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven may refer to:
Religious
* Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew)
** Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels
* Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Will ...
'' features a 158-second entr'acte that includes a performance of ''Wall Breached'' by Harry Gregson-Williams.
* Roadshow releases of the 2015 film ''
The Hateful Eight'' were provided with an original orchestral overture composed by
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classic ...
, but unusually for any media used a
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sis ...
performance of the country song "
Ready for the Times to Get Better" as the entr'acte.
* The 2016
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
album ''
The Astonishing'' features an ''entr'acte'' track entitled "2285 Entr'acte" which bridges the first and second acts of the album.
Notes
References
* Fisher, Stephen C (1992), 'Interlude' in ''The
New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', ed.
Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicology, musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), whi ...
(London)
External links
*
{{Opera terms
French words and phrases
Theatre
Opera terminology