répétiteur

or re·pe·ti·teur

[ rey-pey-ti-tur; French rey-pey-tee-tœr ]

noun

, plural ré·pé·ti·teurs, re·pe·ti·teurs [rey-pey-ti-, turz, r, ey-pey-tee-, tœr].

1. a vocal coach of an opera singer or chorus.
2. a coach of a ballet dancer or corps:

   As répétiteur, she has staged the works of Ailey and Taylor.

répétiteur

/ repetitøz; repetitœr /

noun

1. a member of an opera company who accompanies rehearsals on the piano and coaches the singers

Derived Forms

• répétiteuse, noun:feminine

Word History and Origins

Origin of répétiteur¹

First recorded in 1835–40; from French: “tutor, coach,” from Latin repetīt(us) (past participle of repetere to repeat ) + French -eur -eur

Example Sentences

Then she heard a knock on the door: Jaffe, along with Irina Kolpakova, the esteemed principal répétiteur at Ballet Theater, was there to tell her how beautiful her performance had been.

From New York Times

He conducted chamber orchestras, and Mozart concertos from the keyboard, and in his late teens began working as a repetiteur — the opera rehearsal assistant position that was the main root of old-school conducting careers.

From New York Times

Surrounded in Argentina by refugees who had no sympathy for the style of the conductors who stayed behind to serve the Third Reich, Gielen, a répétiteur and budding conductor at the Teatro Colón, gravitated toward the textual literalism of his two antifascist idols, Erich Kleiber and Arturo Toscanini.

From New York Times

Evocative and easily overlooked, “Répétiteur” by Jorge Otero-Pailos, occupying an obscure rehearsal room at City Center, is on view this week only.

From New York Times

“Répétiteur,” at City Center, in effect does for Merce Cunningham and dance what “The Ethics of Dust” aimed to do at Westminster.

From New York Times