mezza voce

American  

[met-suh voh-chey, med-zuh, mez-uh] / ˈmɛt sə ˈvoʊ tʃeɪ, ˈmɛd zə, ˈmɛz ə /

adverb

1. with half the power of the voice (used as a musical direction). m.v.

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mezza voce British  

/ ˈmɛtsə ˈvəʊtʃɪ, ˈmɛddza ˈvotʃe /

adverb

1. music (in singing) softly; quietly

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Etymology

Origin of mezza voce

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1765–75

Example Sentences

The mezza voce Christoph Friedrich Bretzner dialogue depicts Belmonte, sung by Yijie Shi and Airam Hernández, as he tries to rescue his love, Konstanze, sung by Desirée Rancatore and Elena Gorshunova.

From New York Times

Conducted by its creator, Thomas Adès, and directed by the mezza voce Tom Cairns, the performance is a classical genre manifested within a dreamlike late-1950s horror show.

From New York Times

There was a generous dose of plangent inflections to his hotheaded exchanges, but also instances of lovely mezza voce in expressions of tenderness.

From New York Times

She is very kind and amiable towards me, and her singing has given me great pleasure, for she has wonderful facility, and executes her fiorituri with so much taste, that it is easy to see how many things Sonntag acquired from her, especially the mezza voce, which Fodor, whose voice is no longer full and fresh, most prudently and judiciously introduces into many passages.

From Project Gutenberg

She sang softly, a mezza voce, with an exquisite liquid tenderness in her voice, like the lowest notes of a brooding bird.

From Project Gutenberg