cavatina

American  

[kav-uh-tee-nuh, kah-vah-tee-nah] / ˌkæv əˈti nə, ˌkɑ vɑˈti nɑ /

noun

Music.

• cavatine
  plural

1. a simple song or melody, properly one without a second part or a repeat; an air.

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cavatina British  

/ ˌkævəˈtiːnə /

noun

1. a solo song resembling a simple aria

2. an instrumental composition reminiscent of this

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cavatine
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cavatina

1830–40; < Italian, equivalent to cavat ( a ) song (literally, something drawn out, noun use of feminine of cavata < Latin cavātus hollowed out, hollow; see cave, -ate ¹) + -ina -ine ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cavatina

After intermission he switched gears emotionally with a potent rendition of Aleko’s cavatina from the Rachmaninoff opera of the same name.

From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2015

With his robust voice, he gave a hearty, wily account of Leporello’s “Catalog Aria” from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” and, in complete contrast, an anguished, dark performance of the title character’s cavatina from Rachmaninoff’s “Aleko.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2014

After a game but flat Catalogue aria from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” Michael Sumuel, a bass-baritone, brought smoky smolder to the moody cavatina from Rachmaninoff’s “Aleko.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2012

She caps the cavatina “Una voce poco fa” with a shimmering high C that she holds for a full 12 seconds before dipping down to end the phrase.

From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2011

But up in the region sacred to fashion, inattention, gossip, and flirtation, she rapidly became an event which even the most melodious cavatina was powerless to supersede.

From An Ambitious Woman A Novel by Edgar Fawcett

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