Literary notes about overture (AI summary)
In literature, "overture" frequently serves as both a musical term and a metaphor for any introductory or preliminary gesture. It is used to denote the opening passage of an opera or musical work—as in the case of operatic introductions that deeply affect the listener [1], [2]—while also conveying a figurative invitation or proposal, as when a character cautiously makes an initial approach in conversation or negotiation [3], [4], [5]. Moreover, the term can carry an ironic or critical tone, highlighting the discord between expectation and experience during an event, much like the dramatic silence preceding the commencement of a performance [6], [7], [8].
- Another work also exercised a great fascination over me, namely, the overture to Fidelio in E major, the introduction to which affected me deeply.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - But another work of this period, an Overture in B flat major, left an indelible impression on my mind on account of an incident connected with it.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - I bring no overture of war, no taxation of homage; I hold the olive in my hand: my words are as full of peace as matter.
— from Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will by William Shakespeare - She had waited for him to make an overture; but he had gone without a word, and that had heightened her anger.
— from In Wild Rose Time by Amanda M. Douglas - "Pray don't imagine that I am making any overture with the concurrence of my brother," said William.
— from Fern Vale; or, the Queensland Squatter. Volume 3 by Colin Munro - The beginning was an overture by Cannabich, which, as it is one of his last, I did not know.
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - The worst of all, however, (as well as the greater part of the opera,) is certainly the overture.
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - The curtain had not yet risen and the overture was being played.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy
