overture

overture, musical composition, usually the orchestral introduction to a musical work (often dramatic), but also an independent instrumental work. Early operas opened with a sung prologue or a short instrumental flourish, such as the trumpet “Toccata” that opens Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607). Subsequent 17th-century operas were sometimes preceded by a short instrumental piece called a sinfonia or sonata. The first significant use of a full-scale overture, however, was made by Jean-Baptiste Lully, in works such...