bravura
[bruh-vyoo r-uh, -voo r-uh; Italian brah-voo-rah]
- Music. a florid passage or piece requiring great skill and spirit in the performer.
- a display of daring; brilliant performance.
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- Music. spirited; florid; brilliant (applied chiefly to vocal but occasionally to instrumental compositions).
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Origin of bravura
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bravura
Contemporary Examples
Moran does so with fearless honesty and bravura, but admits she was wary about oversharing when she wrote How to Be a Woman.
On the drama side, James Spader breaks into the Best Actor category for his bravura scenery chewing on The Blacklist.
15 Golden Globe Snubs and Surprises: No Oprah, No Jon Hamm, and MoreKevin Fallon, Marlow Stern
December 12, 2013
He gives a bravura physical performance of the act of dying that can only have been born of extensive firsthand experience.
Indonesian Killers Brought to Justice 50 Years Too Late in ‘The Act of Killing’Tom Sykes
July 28, 2013
It was a perfectly played symphony of silhouette, color, and texture—a bravura performance, an aesthetic rarity.
Milan Fall Fashion Week 2012: Raf Simons’s Last Collection at Jil SanderRobin Givhan
February 25, 2012
This was vintage, bravura Blair: After six hours of questioning he remained defiant, unabashed, and proud.
Historical Examples
A "Caprice Español" is a bravura realization of Spanish frenzy.
Contemporary American ComposersRupert Hughes
A bravura and finale of light, graceful melody close the opera.
The Standard Light OperasGeorge Upton
You will find many alterations in the finale of my Bravura Variations.
Ole BullSara C. Bull
In the later variations (3, 5, 6, 17) there is little or no bravura.
Life Of Mozart, Vol. 2 (of 3)Otto Jahn
At least, in Rossinis Stabat Mater, there are no bravura airs.
The Life of RossiniHenry Sutherland Edwards
bravura
- a display of boldness or daring
- music
- brilliance of execution
- (as modifier)a bravura passage
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Word Origin
C18: from Italian: spirit, courage, from bravare to show off, see bravado
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bravura
n.
1788, "piece of music requiring great skill," from Italian bravura "bravery, spirit" (see brave (adj.)). Sense of "display of brilliancy, dash" is from 1813.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper