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 • Sep. 6, 2017

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 • Sep. 6, 2017

Vocal style usually went out the window when he saw a chance to prolong a honeyed mezza voce, a thundering high B-flat, a sob, a gulp or a tearful portamento.

From Time Magazine Archive

Take her mezza voce and her phrasing in the second act of Monna Vanna, take them and bow down before them.

From The Merry-Go-Round by Van Vechten, Carl

And striking a chord or two, he began, a mezza voce: "Quando sorrider�n' in ciel Gli occhi tuoi ai santi—" She laid a hand upon his arm to stay him.

From Love-at-Arms by Sabatini, Rafael