Editing Overture (section)

== 18th century ==
Prior to the 18th century, the symphony and the overture were almost interchangeable, with overtures being extracted from operas to serve as stand-alone instrumental works, and symphonies being tagged to the front of operas as overtures.<ref>{{harvnb|Taruskin|n.d.|loc={{Page needed|date=November 2016}}}}</ref> With the reform of ''opera seria,'' the overture began to distinguish itself from the symphony, and composers began to link the content of overtures to their operas dramatically and emotionally.  Elements from the opera are foreshadowed in the overture, following the reform ideology that the music and every other element on stages serves to enhance the plot.  One such overture was that of ''[[La Magnifique]]'' by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, in which several of the arias are quoted.<ref>{{harvnb|Charlton and Bartlet|n.d.}}</ref> This "[[Medley (music)|medley]] form" persists in the overtures to many works of [[musical theatre]] written in the 20th and 21st centuries.