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(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 Franc ...
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 An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte (F ...
(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 overt ...
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 Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
''). 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 A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
. 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 A sainete (farce or titbit) was a popular Spanish comic opera piece, a one-act dramatic vignette, with music. It was often placed at the end of entertainments, or between other types of performance. It was vernacular in style, and used scenes of lo ...
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 as t ...
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 of ...
,
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 librett ...
and
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
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 c ...
" 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 ''Divertissement'' (from the French 'diversion' or 'amusement') is used, in a similar sense to the Italian 'divertimento', for a light piece of music for a small group of players, however the French term has additional meanings. During the 17th and ...
'' 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 theory, 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 Fr ...
, 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 '' ...
: 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 Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Thé ...
''. 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 o ...
'', 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 Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...
, 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 abo ...
'' ''Il prigioner superbo'' (1733). Eventually the ''intermezzo'' got more attention than the large-scale work to which it was added (see ''
Querelle des Bouffons The ("Quarrel of the Comic Actors"), also known as the ("War of the Comic Actors"), was the name given to a battle of musical philosophies that took place in Paris between 1752 and 1754. The controversy concerned the relative merits of French a ...
''). *
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 (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
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 Spanis ...
'', where he mixes the ''divertimento''-like dancing (accompanied by a small
ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...
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 Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' 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 sma ...
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, a C ...
'', 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 fol ...
's last, sombre opera ''
From the House of the Dead ''From the House of the Dead'' () is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček. The libretto was translated and adapted by the composer from the 1862 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was the composer's last opera, premiered on 12 April 1930 at ...
'' (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 Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...
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 Furniture music, or in French ''musique d’ameublement'' (sometimes more literally translated as ''furnishing'' music), is background music originally played by live performers. The term was coined by Erik Satie in 1917. Satie's compositions The ...
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 und ...
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 first ...
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 Roadshow theatrical release is a practice in which a film opened in a limited number of theaters in large cities. Road show or Road Show may also refer to: *''Antiques Roadshow'', a BBC TV series where antiques specialist travel around the country ...
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 (1915–191 ...
'' in 1962 and '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' in 1968), but others such as '' Ben-Hur'' (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 ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago Yuri Andreievich Zhivago is the ...
'', it is the shock from audiences that came with the identity of infamous Bolshevik commander Strelnikov. * The 1968
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
-
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
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 stars ...
'' 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! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ!) is a 1970 epic film, epic war film that dramatizes the Empire of Japan, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, T ...
'' 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 ''The Hateful Eight'' (sometimes marketed as ''The H8ful Eight'' or ''The Hateful 8'') is a 2015 American Western mystery thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leig ...
'' 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 classica ...
, but unusually for any media used a Crystal Gayle 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 ''The Astonishing'' is the thirteenth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on January 29, 2016 through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's second concept album, with a story conceived by guitarist John Pet ...
'' 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'', ed.
Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
(London)


External links

* {{Opera terms French words and phrases Theatre Opera terminology