Editing Aria (section)

===Aria form in late 17th century French and Italian opera===
In the context of staged works and concert works, arias evolved from simple melodies into structured forms. In such works, the sung, melodic, and structured aria differed from the speech-like (''[[wikt:parlando|parlando]]'') [[recitative]] – the latter tending to carry the story-line, the former used to convey emotional content and serve as an opportunity for singers to display their vocal talent.

By the late 17th century, operatic arias came to be written in one of two forms. [[Binary form]] arias were in two sections (A–B); arias in [[ternary form]] (A–B–A) were known as ''[[da capo aria]]s'' (literally 'from the head', i.e. with the opening section repeated, often in a highly [[ornament (music)|decorated]] manner).{{sfnp|Westrup et al.|n.d.|loc=§2: Seventeenth century vocal music}} In the ''da capo'' aria, the 'B' episode would typically be in a different [[key (music)|key]] – the [[dominant (music)|dominant]] or [[relative major]] key. Other variants of these forms are found in the French operas of the late 17th century such as those of [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]] which dominated the period of the French baroque. Vocal solos in his operas (known of course as the French term, ''airs'') are frequently in extended binary form (ABB') or sometimes in ''[[rondo|rondeau]]'' form (ABACA),{{sfnp|Anthony|1991|pp=202–205}} (a shape which is analogous to the instrumental [[rondo]]).

In the work of Italian composers of the late 17th and early 18th century, the ''da capo'' aria came to be include the ''[[ritornello]]'' (literally, 'little return'), a recurring instrumental episode which featured certain phrases of the aria proper and provided, in early operas, the opportunity for dancing or entries of characters.<ref>{{harvp|Talbot|n.d.}}; {{harvp|Solie|1977|pp=54–5}}</ref> ''Da capo'' aria with ''ritornelli'' became a typifying feature of European opera throughout the 18th century and is thought by some writers to be a direct antecedent of [[sonata form]].<ref>{{harvp|Solie|1977|p=31}}. See also e.g. {{harvp|Rosen|1988}}.</ref> The ''ritornelli'' became essential to the structure of the aria – "while the words determine the character of a melody the ritornello instruments often decided in what terms it shall be presented."{{sfnp|Lewis|1959|p=97}}