Straordinario

Straordinario is an Italian adjective meaning extraordinary, unusual, or exceptional. It is used in everyday Italian to describe things that stand out from the ordinary, for example un evento straordinario (an extraordinary event) or un talento straordinario (an extraordinary talent). The word combines the prefix stra- meaning beyond or outside with ordinario (ordinary).

In music, straordinario is a directive indicating that a passage should be performed in an unusually expressive or virtuosic manner, beyond the normal style. It signals the performer to apply greater intensity, nuance, or tempo flexibility as determined by the context of the piece. The marking appears in scores and can accompany rubato or heightened phrasing; its exact effect depends on the era, the composer, and the performance practice surrounding the work.

Outside music, the term is less common in English but appears in discussions of Italian literature or culture and is sometimes used in English-language translations of Italian scores. In Italian, the feminine form straordinaria exists for feminine nouns, as in una capacità straordinaria or una performance straordinaria.

Related terms include ordinario (ordinary), which marks the return to the regular style, and the adverbial form straordinariamente meaning extraordinarily. The word is widely recognized as a standard Italian term in both linguistic and musical contexts.