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In music, a reprise ( , Merriam-Webster Pronunciation ; from the verb reprendre 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repeated section, such as is indicated by beginning and ending .Stein, Deborah (2005). Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis, Glossary, p.331. New York: Oxford University Press.
A partial or abbreviated reprise is known as a petite reprise ( , ). In Baroque music this usually occurs at the very end of a piece, repeating the final phrase with added ornamentation.
Often the reprised version of a song has exactly the same tune and lyrics as the original, though frequently featuring different characters singing or including them with the original character in the reprised version. For example, in The Sound of Music, the reprise of the title song is sung by the Von Trapp children and their father, the Captain; whereas the original was sung by Maria. In "Edelweiss" (reprise), the entire Von Trapp family and Maria sing and are later joined by the audience, whereas the original features Liesl and the Captain..
Also, in the musical The Music Man, the love song "Goodnight My Someone" uses the same basic melody (though with a more ballad quality to it) as the rousing march and theme song "Seventy-Six Trombones"; in the reprised versions, Harold and Marian are heard singing a snatch of each other's songs. And in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat, the song "Ol' Man River" is reprised three times after it is first sung, as if it were a commentary on the situation in the story. In some musicals, a reprise of an earlier song is sung by a different character from the one who originally sang it, with different lyrics.
In Mamma Mia!, however, the reprises for the title track, Dancing Queen, and Waterloo have no altering of the lyrics, and are just shortened versions of the originals featured earlier.
In RENT, the song, "I'll Cover You" gets a reprise at Angel's funeral. It is sung primarily by Collins and is slower and more emotional to reflect Collins' emotional state. Nearing the end of the song, the rest of the company begins singing a slower version of the first verse of "Seasons of Love". In addition, the second half of "Goodbye Love" features the piano playing an instrumental which is a faster version of the instrumental in "Halloween".
In Hamilton, the song, "Best Of Wives, And Best Of Women" reprises the song "It's Quiet Uptown" with the same melody and similar lyrics, along with "The Story of Tonight" being reprised several times.
In Frozen, the song, "For The First Time In Forever (reprise)" reprises the song "For The First Time In Forever" by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel. Both versions are sung by the same artists.
In the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Iolanthe, the song "If you go in you're sure to win", sung by the Chancellor and his two lordly friends, gets a reprise in the final song "Soon as we may, off and away", sung by the whole ensemble, with the same melody, but with only two verses instead of three.
From the postmodern perspective, reprise is a fundamental literary device in the whole history of art.
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