overture

An overture is an instrumental musical piece that serves as an introduction to a larger work, most often an opera. The word comes from the French ouverture, meaning opening. In opera, the overture originally functioned as a standalone prelude that introduced melodies and moods that would appear later in the drama. It is often performed before the curtain rises and can showcase the composer’s orchestral writing.

Overtures have developed into several types. The opera overture is linked to a specific stage work and may incorporate themes from that work. The concert overture, a standalone piece not tied to a particular opera or ballet, became popular in the Romantic era and is often programmatic, aiming to evoke a mood, scene, or narrative. Some composers also wrote overtures that served as preludes to tragedies, comedies, or other dramatic forms, while retaining the title “overture.”

Notable examples span a wide range. Mozart’s overtures to The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute are classic opera preludes; Rossini’s Guillaume Tell Overture (often performed independently in concerts) is a well-known concert overture; Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture are early examples of the concert overture tradition; Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture is another famous concert overture, though not connected to a specific stage work.

Today, the term still distinguishes preludes to operas from standalone orchestral pieces marketed as overtures. While the practice has diminished in some late-19th and 20th‑century contexts, the overture remains a recognizable form for signaling a musical world to come and framing an audience’s initial listening experience.