Where should overtures to operas be classified? They are instrumental rather than vocal music and are often performed separately from the operas of which they are a part.

All parts of an opera, whether or not singing is involved and whether or not they are played separately from the complete opera, are classified with operas in 782.1 If the part is a specific musical form, notation 18 from the add table at 782.1-782.4 can be added. Add instructions in the various add tables in the Music schedule usually refer to numbers earlier in the schedule. But the instruction at 18 in the add table at 782.1-782.4 refers to 784.182-784.189, numbers later in the schedule. Therefore, instrumental forms, such as overtures, can be shown in 782. The number for opera overtures is 782.118926: 782.1 Operas + 18 Musical forms + 926 Overtures.

Last revised: 05 September 2003