Con enfasi

As Printed on a Score

Printed above the vocal line (or a melodic part) at the phrase to be stressed, sometimes beside a tempo word such as incalzando; it lasts for that phrase, and the bare noun enfasi can also appear.

Also spelled: enfasi

How Composers Use It

Emphasis here means rhetorical weight: words or notes delivered with conviction and a slight broadening. In Italian song and opera it marks a declamatory peak. Combine it with a tempo word (incalzando, rallentando) to say whether the emphasis presses forward or holds back, and keep it for a single phrase or line of text rather than a whole aria.

Example

Verdi, “In solitaria stanza”, voice, m. 27: “con enfasi” with “incalzando” in the same bar, and “con grazia” two bars later.