Which of the following includes recitatives, arias, ensembles, and choruses?

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Opera is a distinct genre of musical performance that combines various elements, including recitatives, arias, ensembles, and choruses, all woven together into a cohesive dramatic narrative.

Recitatives serve as a form of musical dialogue that advances the plot and is typically sung in a speech-like style, allowing for greater emotional expression and dramatic pacing. Arias are more intricate solo pieces that showcase a character's emotions and thoughts, often providing a moment of introspection within the storyline. Ensembles involve multiple singers performing together, allowing for complex interactions between characters and enhancing the dramatic tension. Finally, choruses bring together a larger group of voices, often representing a collective viewpoint or commentary on the unfolding events, which adds depth to the overall narrative structure of the opera.

This combination of vocal styles and forms is unique to opera and distinguishes it from musical theater, where the structure may vary, symphonies, which are purely instrumental works, and chamber music, which focuses on small ensembles without the theatrical and narrative elements characteristic of opera.

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