ossia

American  

[oh-see-uh] / oʊˈsi ə /

conjunction

1. (indicating an alternative, usually easier, version of a passage in a musical score) or; or else.

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Etymology

Origin of ossia

First recorded in 1875–80, ossia is from Italian o sia “or let it be”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ossia

The company is performing dozens of different titles, including Meyerbeer’s “Les Huguenots”; a staging of two unfinished Mozart operas, “L’Oca del Cairo, ossia lo Sposo Deluso”; and plenty of war horses.

From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2018

Notwithstanding the Latin title, the work itself is wholly in Italian and both in the MSS. and in later printed editions is found also under the title Deifira ossia del mal principiato amore.

From Catalogue of the William Loring Andrews Collection of Early Books in the Library of Yale University by Addison Van Name

Its original title was "Almaviva, ossia l'inutile precauzione," to distinguish it from Paisiello's "Barber of Seville."

From The Standard Operas (12th edition) Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers by George P. (George Putnam) Upton

The production which may have infuenced him was that of Ferdinando Paër's" Leonora, ossia l'Amore conjugale," which was brought forward at Dresden, where its composer was conductor of the opera, on October 3, 1804.

From A Book of Operas Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music by Henry Edward Krehbiel

The full title of the work is "Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni," and the subject was taken from a Spanish tale by Tirso de Molina, called "El combidado de piedra."

From The Standard Operas (12th edition) Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers by George P. (George Putnam) Upton

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