scena

music

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

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The term "scena" (plural: scene or scene) refers to an elaborate solo vocal composition in music. It typically begins with a recitative, which is a style of singing that imitates the rhythm and inflection of speech, and is then followed by one or more aria sections, which are more melodic and expressive parts of the composition. The word "scena" originates from Italian and ultimately from Latin, meaning "scene". This musical form was first used in 1788.1

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2 Britannica Sources

scena
scene

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Henri Duparc
…the French song into a scena, or opera-like scene, and brought to it a poetic sense of musical prosody and a symphonic conception of form. In his youth Duparc wrote two orchestral works, Aux Étoiles (To the Stars) and Lénore, and a motet. He was also keenly interested in Russian…
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…the French song into a scena, or opera-like scene, and brought to it a poetic sense of musical prosody and a symphonic conception of form. In his youth Duparc wrote two orchestral works, Aux Étoiles (To the Stars) and Lénore, and a motet. He was also keenly interested in Russian…
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Claudio Monteverdi
The Gonzaga court
…is the first great operatic scena (i.e., a scene of especially dramatic effect, usually with arias).
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…is the first great operatic scena (i.e., a scene of especially dramatic effect, usually with arias).
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