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Genres of the Performing Arts edit

The overview table of the genres of the performing arts was originally generated based on an analysis of the categories used by the Swiss Theatre Collection and the categories that were already present on Wikidata. In the process, two classes (categories) were newly created. Further categories may be added if deemed necessary in the context of other data ingests.

Categories used by the Swiss Theatre Collection edit

The Swiss Theatre Collection distinguishes different genres of the performing arts; a list is provided below. In the case of the "Repertoire des Schauspielhauses", all productions belong to the genres "Sprechtheater" ("spoken theatre") or "Schauspiel mit Musik" ("drama with music").

Wikidata SPARQL queries – subclasses of dance, theatre, and musical performance edit

Overview table – Genres of the Performing Arts (Theatre and Concert Dance) edit

WDitem genre1 genre2 genre3 genre4 classification_type Remarks (discussion)
dance (Q11639)      dance n/a Indicated here in order to provide some context to concert dance.
concert dance (Q1020618)      dance concert dance performing arts genre Synonyms: performance dance, theatrical dance

Antonym: participation dance (Q7140430)     

ballet (Q41425)      dance, theatre, music concert dance ballet performing arts genre (work / performance)
acro dance (Q2603192)      dance, theatre concert dance acrobatic dance performing arts genre
theatre (Q11635)      theatre performing arts genre (work / performance)
spoken drama (Q39892385)<newly created> theatre drama performing arts genre (work / performance) de:Schauspiel, Sprechtheater; acting (Q222749)     is not a good match in English, in other languages it would be; definitions should be reviewed.

drama fiction (Q21010853) would be a good match in French, but not in English and German. This may require disambiguation.

drama with music (Q39894018)<newly created> theatre, music drama drama with music performing arts genre (work / performance)
musical theater (Q1370345)      theatre, music music theatre performing arts genre (work / performance)
opera (Q1344)      theatre, music music

theatre

opera performing arts genre (work / performance)
singspiel (Q377258)      theatre, music music

theatre

opera singspiel performing arts genre (work) Should only be used in combination with works (and not in combination with performances or productions)
opéra comique (Q785479)      theatre, music music theatre opera opéra comique performing arts genre (work) Should only be used in combination with works (and not in combination with performances or productions)
operetta (Q170384)      theatre, music music

theatre

opera operetta performing arts genre

(work / performance)

semi-opera (Q2140240)      theatre, music music theatre opera semi-opera performing arts genre

(work)

Should only be used in combination with works (and not in combination with performances or productions)
musical (Q2743)      theatre, music music

theatre

musical performing arts genre

(work / performance)

Is there a hard definition to distinguish between "opera" and "musical"? – In the Broadway database, "opera" seems at times to be considered a subclass of "musical".
puppetry (Q588750)      theatre puppetry performing arts genre

(work / performance)

kleinkunst (Q1746926)      theatre kleinkunst performing arts genre What relationship with estrada?
cabaret (Q27976507) theatre kleinkunst cabaret performing arts genre Note that cabaret (Q131183)      is defined in Wikidata as "event venue", which constitutes a mismatch with regard to the main topic of the related English Wikipedia article.
Kabarett (Q16154635) theatre kleinkunst cabaret satirical revue performing arts genre
estrada (Q2472420) theatre estrada performing arts genre The Russian definition of "estrada" is very similar to the German definition of "Kleinkunst". – Should the two be merged?
clownery (Q4224122) theatre estrada clownery performing arts genre
vaudeville (Q186286)      theatre performing arts genre
mime (Q39818)      theatre performing arts genre
recitation (Q1680700)      recitation performing arts genre

(performance)

musical performance (Q6942562)      music n/a Musical performance and concert are just indicated here to provide some context with regard to the oratorio, which is a borderline case, as it is a concert with vocalists singing different character roles.
concert (Q182832)      music concert n/a
oratorio (Q85477) music concert oratorio performing arts genre

(work / performance)

Note that the genre "oratorio" is by default a concert performance (see below).

Types of Music Theater Performances edit

Music theater performances, such as musical or opera performances may be produced as fully staged, scenic performances (with acting, costumes, props and a set design), as semi-staged performances (with acting, but typically without set design and only with a limited number of props and costumes), or as concert performances (without acting and without costumes or set design – the vocalists are just singing their parts). Note that the oratorio (Q85477) as a genre is roughly equivalent to a concert performance of an opera – the main difference being that an opera as a work has originally been intended for fully staged, scenic performances, while an oratorio has not.

Type of Music Theater Performance Definition Domain Property Primary Type
default (in case of a performance (Q35140) of the genre opera (Q1344) or musical (Q2743)) Fully staged, scenic performance (with acting, costumes, props and a set design) Performance instance of (P31) performance (Q35140)
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances n/a n/a
semi-staged performance (Q52239285) semi-staged performance (with acting, but typically without set design and only with a limited number of props and costumes) Performance instance of (P31) semi-staged performance (Q52239285)
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances has part(s) of the class (P2670) semi-staged performance (Q52239285)
concert performance (Q1486440) concert performance (without acting and without costumes or set design – the vocalists are dressed up like in a concert and are singing their parts) Performance instance of (P31) concert performance (Q1486440)
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances has part(s) of the class (P2670) concert performance (Q1486440)

Target Audience edit

There are some Wikipedia items referring to types of theatre defined by their target audience, such as youth theatre (Q2416110) or Theatre for Early Years (Q18394038)     . The use of these types to characterize theatre productions or performances is discouraged. The property intended public (P2360) should be used instead.

Performance Types edit

The performance types below were originally derived from the dataset "Repertoire des Schauspielhauses Zürich" and were double checked with the performance types employed in the database of the Swiss Theatre Collection. Further types may be added if deemed necessary for other data ingests.

Designation (de) Designation (en) Definition Domain Property Primary Type Qualifier (Scope)
Uraufführung world premiere the very first performance of a dramatic, musical or choreographic work in its original expression Performance instance of (P31) world premiere (Q2500107) (world premiere) (none)
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances (has premiere type)
Erstaufführung (with reference to a language) premiere (with reference to a language) the first performance of a dramatic work in a given language Performance instance of (P31) language premiere (Q40248002)(language premiere) language
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances (has premiere type)
Erstaufführung (with reference to a country) premiere (with reference to an administrative territorial entity) the first performance of a dramatic work in a given country Performance instance of (P31) country premiere (Q40248880)(country premiere) country
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances (has premiere type)
Erstaufführung (with reference to an administrative territorial entity smaller than a country) premiere (with reference to an administrative territorial entity) the first performance of a dramatic work in a given region, town, etc. Performance instance of (P31) local premiere (Q40249084)(local premiere) administrative territorial entity
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances (has premiere type)
Erstaufführung (without reference or with reference to a particular Expression); Uraufführung (with reference to a particular Expression) world premiere (without reference or with reference to a particular Expression) the very first performance of a particular adaptation or translation of a dramatic work Performance instance of (P31) world premiere (Q40249348)(world premiere) (none)
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances (has premiere type)
Neuinszenierung new staging, new production new staging of a stage production that has already been performed before in the same place (based on a different performance plan) Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances (has premiere type) new staging (Q40249579)(new staging) n/a
Wiederaufnahme revival, revival production restaging of a stage production after its original run has closed Performance instance of (P31) revival (Q2568341) (revival) n/a
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances (has premiere type)
Gastspiel guest performance representation(s) of a stage production by an artist or an artists' collective that is not attached to the given venue Performance instance of (P31) guest performance (Q40249767) (guest performance) n/a
Series of Performances has part(s) of the class (P2670)
Freilichtaufführung outdoor performance outdoor (stage) performance Performance instance of (P31) outdoor performance (Q40249907)(outdoor performance) n/a
Performing Arts Production; Series of Performances has part(s) of the class (P2670)
Schülervorstellung stage performance especially targeted at schools, with a special introduction, special explanations, or other forms of mediation in order to facilitate the understanding of the performance by the pupils / students Performance;

Series of Performances

instance of (P31) special performance for pupils or students (Q40250279)(special performance for pupils or students) n/a
Performing arts Production; Series of Performances has part(s) of the class (P2670)
Matinee, Nachmittagsvorstellung matinee; morning performance, afternoon performance stage performance taking place in the morning or in the afternoon (as opposed to soiree, which takes place in the evening) Performance instance of (P31) matinée (Q10772859) (matinee) n/a

Occupations Typical of the Performing Arts edit

Note that the focus is on the occupations involved in the production of live events; for movies, music recording, broadcasting, video games, literature, etc. see the respective Wikidata projects. Occupations from adjacent fields that also include elements of live performance, such as strip dancing, wrestling, etc., have not been included. Teaching occupations, such as dancing master, have been excluded from the table as well.

The table below covers occupations that are referred to in Wikidata (as of October 2020); to retrieve them, the Thus, many of the items listed in the table may not only be defined as "occupation", but also as "position".queries below have been used:

  • more than 100 times for types of performing artists
  • more than 100 times for types of theatre professionals
  • more than 500 times for types of writers
  • more than 1000 times for types of musicians

A few further occupations have been added for the purpose of completeness.

Types of performing artists by number of instances edit

SELECT DISTINCT ?type 
 (COUNT(DISTINCT ?instance) AS ?count)
 ?Label_en
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType1_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes1_en) 
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType2_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes2_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType3_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes3_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType4_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes4_en)
WHERE {
 ?type wdt:P279* wd:Q713200.
 OPTIONAL { ?instance wdt:P106 ?type }  
 OPTIONAL { ?type rdfs:label ?Label_en . FILTER (lang(?Label_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType1 . ?occupationType1 wdt:P279/^wdt:P279 wd:Q713200 . ?occupationType1 rdfs:label ?occupationType1_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType1_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType2 . ?occupationType2 wdt:P279 wd:Q713200 . ?occupationType2 rdfs:label ?occupationType2_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType2_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType3 . ?occupationType3 wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q713200 . ?occupationType3 rdfs:label ?occupationType3_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType3_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType4 . ?occupationType4 wdt:P279/wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q713200 . ?occupationType4 rdfs:label ?occupationType4_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType4_en) = "en") }
}
GROUP BY ?type 						#List all the variables for which the values are not concatenated!
  ?count
  ?Label_en 
ORDER BY DESC(?count)
LIMIT 10000
Try it!

Types of musicians by number of instances edit

SELECT DISTINCT ?type 
 (COUNT(DISTINCT ?instance) AS ?count)
 ?Label_en
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType1_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes1_en) 
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType2_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes2_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType3_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes3_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType4_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes4_en)
WHERE {
 ?type wdt:P279* wd:Q639669.
 OPTIONAL { ?instance wdt:P106 ?type }  
 OPTIONAL { ?type rdfs:label ?Label_en . FILTER (lang(?Label_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType1 . ?occupationType1 wdt:P279/^wdt:P279 wd:Q639669 . ?occupationType1 rdfs:label ?occupationType1_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType1_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType2 . ?occupationType2 wdt:P279 wd:Q639669 . ?occupationType2 rdfs:label ?occupationType2_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType2_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType3 . ?occupationType3 wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q639669 . ?occupationType3 rdfs:label ?occupationType3_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType3_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType4 . ?occupationType4 wdt:P279/wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q639669 . ?occupationType4 rdfs:label ?occupationType4_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType4_en) = "en") }
}
GROUP BY ?type 						#List all the variables for which the values are not concatenated!
  ?count
  ?Label_en 
ORDER BY DESC(?count)
LIMIT 10000
Try it!

Types of writers by number of instances edit

SELECT DISTINCT ?type 
 (COUNT(DISTINCT ?instance) AS ?count)
 ?Label_en
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType1_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes1_en) 
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType2_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes2_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType3_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes3_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType4_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes4_en)
WHERE {
 ?type wdt:P279* wd:Q36180.
 OPTIONAL { ?instance wdt:P106 ?type }  
 OPTIONAL { ?type rdfs:label ?Label_en . FILTER (lang(?Label_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType1 . ?occupationType1 wdt:P279/^wdt:P279 wd:Q36180 . ?occupationType1 rdfs:label ?occupationType1_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType1_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType2 . ?occupationType2 wdt:P279 wd:Q36180 . ?occupationType2 rdfs:label ?occupationType2_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType2_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType3 . ?occupationType3 wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q36180 . ?occupationType3 rdfs:label ?occupationType3_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType3_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType4 . ?occupationType4 wdt:P279/wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q36180 . ?occupationType4 rdfs:label ?occupationType4_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType4_en) = "en") }
}
GROUP BY ?type 						#List all the variables for which the values are not concatenated!
  ?count
  ?Label_en 
ORDER BY DESC(?count)
LIMIT 100
Try it!

Types of theatre professionals (theatrical occupations) by number of instances edit

SELECT DISTINCT ?type 
 (COUNT(DISTINCT ?instance) AS ?count)
 ?Label_en
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType1_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes1_en) 
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType2_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes2_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType3_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes3_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType4_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes4_en)
WHERE {
 ?type wdt:P31/wdt:P279* wd:Q15839299.
 OPTIONAL { ?instance wdt:P106 ?type }  
 OPTIONAL { ?type rdfs:label ?Label_en . FILTER (lang(?Label_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType1 . ?occupationType1 wdt:P279/^wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType1 rdfs:label ?occupationType1_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType1_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType2 . ?occupationType2 wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType2 rdfs:label ?occupationType2_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType2_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType3 . ?occupationType3 wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType3 rdfs:label ?occupationType3_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType3_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType4 . ?occupationType4 wdt:P279/wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType4 rdfs:label ?occupationType4_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType4_en) = "en") }
}
GROUP BY ?type 						#List all the variables for which the values are not concatenated!
  ?count
  ?Label_en 
ORDER BY DESC(?count)
LIMIT 10000
Try it!

Types of theatre professionals (theatrical occupations) by number of instances (obsolete) edit

This query is pretty much obsolete; the data modelling has been corrected for most of the items. To be kept for housekeeping purposes.

SELECT DISTINCT ?type 
 (COUNT(DISTINCT ?instance) AS ?count)
 ?Label_en
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType1_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes1_en) 
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType2_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes2_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType3_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes3_en)
 (group_concat(distinct ?occupationType4_en;separator="; ") as ?occupationTypes4_en)
WHERE {
 ?type wdt:P279* wd:Q15839299.
 OPTIONAL { ?instance wdt:P106 ?type }  
 OPTIONAL { ?type rdfs:label ?Label_en . FILTER (lang(?Label_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType1 . ?occupationType1 wdt:P279/^wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType1 rdfs:label ?occupationType1_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType1_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType2 . ?occupationType2 wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType2 rdfs:label ?occupationType2_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType2_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType3 . ?occupationType3 wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType3 rdfs:label ?occupationType3_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType3_en) = "en") }
 OPTIONAL { ?type wdt:P279+ ?occupationType4 . ?occupationType4 wdt:P279/wdt:P279/wdt:P279 wd:Q15839299 . ?occupationType4 rdfs:label ?occupationType4_en . FILTER (lang(?occupationType4_en) = "en") }
}
GROUP BY ?type 						#List all the variables for which the values are not concatenated!
  ?count
  ?Label_en 
ORDER BY DESC(?count)
LIMIT 10000
Try it!

Overview Table of Occupations Typical of the Performing Arts edit

Occupations, positions and roles are distinct work-related concepts, which can easily be confused:

  • Occupations denote the kind of work usually performed by a person; they are typically defined by the set of skills and the education/training required for that kind of work;
  • Positions refer to a specific employment/mandate relationship between a person and an organization;
  • Roles denote contributions of persons to performing arts endeavours (works/productions or events).

Confusion between those concepts can be amplified by homonymy:

  • “Stage director” can be both an occupation and a role within a production.
  • “Conductor” can be all three: an occupation, a role in a performance, and a position within an orchestra.

Thus, many of the items listed in the table are not only defined as "occupation", but also as "position" (often rightly so, but sometimes the categorization may be disputed - as noted under "remarks").

Furthermore, two columns have been added to list equivalent properties that are used to refer to positions within organizations and to roles in productions/performances respectively.

The comments in the "Remarks" column should eventually translate into action points; see in this regard also the further discussion of data modelling issues.

WD item field of occupation occupation type 1 occupation type 2 occupation type 3 occupation type 4 occupation type 5 occupation type 6 description (en) de en nl es fr it ru property (position) property (role)* Remarks
artist (Q483501) art artist person who engages in any form of artistic creation or practice Künstler / Künstlerin artist kunstenaar artiste artista деятель искусств -
visual artist (Q3391743) visual arts artist visual artist artist involved with the visual arts bildender Künstler / bildende Künstlerin visual artist beeldend kunstenaar plasticien artista plastico деятель изобразительного искусства - It is not sure whether the visual artist belongs here. Some performing artists (performance artists) are defined as visual artists. Depending on the definition employed, this may not be correct.

English Wikipedia: "The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts also involve aspects of visual arts as well as arts of other types. Also included within the visual arts are the applied arts such as industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and decorative art."

The German, French, Italian, etc. equivalents of "visual arts" explicitely do not include the performing arts.

performing artist (Q713200) performing arts artist performing artist artist who participates in performing arts in front of an audience: actors, comedians, dancers, magicians, circus artists, musicians, singers Artist / Artistin performing artist uitvoerend kunstenaar artiste de scène artista performativo / artista performativa исполнитель (?) performer (P175)

Furthermore, the German defintion of "Artist" / "darstellender Künstler" excludes musicians. The same goes for the French "artiste de scène".

When looking at the Wikipedia articles that are linked to this item, there are clear mismatches due to the varying extensions of the terms: e.g. de:Artist and sr:Интерпретатор (музика) (music interpreter) are both subclasses of en:performing artist, but they are exclusive of each other.

Proposal: Extend the class tree to match concepts properly.

actor (Q33999) performing arts artist performing artist actor person who acts in a dramatic or comic production and works in film, television, theatre, or radio Schauspieler / Schauspielerin actor / actress acteur acteur / actrice attore / attrice актёр / актёрша cast member (P161) The way most definitions are worded, they refer rather to a role within a play / film and less so to a profession/occupation.
mime artist (Q674067) performing arts artist performing artist actor mime artist someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or in performance art Pantomime mime artist pantomimespeler mime mimo / mima мим cast member (P161)
character actor (Q948329) performing arts artist performing artist actor character actor actor who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters karakteracteur cast member (P161)
impressionist (Q1148872) performing arts artist performing artist actor impressionist performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others imitator cast member (P161)
comedian (Q245068) performing arts artist performing artist actor comedian person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh Komiker / Komikerin comedian komiek humoriste comico / comica комик cast member (P161) In the French definition, the meaning of "auteur de textes humoristiques" should be removed from the item (avoid polysemy).
stand-up comedian (Q18545066) performing arts artist performing artist;

visual artist (?)

actor;

performance artist (?)

comedian;

- (?)

stand-up comedian comedian of stand-up comedy stand-upcomedian cast member (P161)
cabaret performer (Q15214752) performing arts artist performing artist actor comedian cabaret artist performing artist specialized in cabaret Kabarettist / Kabarettistin cabaret artist cabaretier artiste de cabaret cabarettista артист кабаре / артистка кабаре cast member (P161) Most definitions contain the reference to "cabaret"; French doesn't, but refers to "personne qui joue dans des spectacles d'humour". Italian lists both. This is probably another case of polysemy that should be avoided.
vedette (Q3178518) performing arts artist performing artist;

musician

actor;

dancer

comedian cabaret artist vedette female entertainer with multiple talents for singing, dancing, or acting vedette meneuse de revue cast member (P161) Some definitions (e.g. es, fr) rather refer to a role in a specific production than to an occupation.
satirist (Q9334029) performing arts artist performing artist actor comedian satirist author of satirical texts satiricus (definition needs clarification) There is a mismatch between the definition/description (apparently across all the languages) and the position of the item within the class structure. This has to be corrected.

The only directly linked WP article is in Polish and uses a broad definition of the term: "A satirist is an artist (more generally an artist) who deals with ridiculing reality or making fun of it. The main means of communication for satirists are: satirical poems or columns; monologues or cabaret sketches; songs; satirical drawings; others." (translated with DeepL)

stage actor (Q2259451) performing arts artist performing artist actor stage actor actor who performs live before an in-person audience toneelacteur cast member (P161)
puppeteer (Q2629392) performing arts artist performing artist actor stage actor puppeteer person who manipulates a puppet in real time to create the illusion of life Puppenspieler / Puppenspielerin puppeteer poppenspeler marionnettiste burattinaio / burattinaia кукольник / кукольница performer (P175)
kabuki actor (Q48146261) performing arts artist performing artist actor stage actor kabuki actor kabuki-acteur cast member (P161)
musical theatre actor (Q1954956) performing arts artist performing artist actor stage actor musical theatre actor actor and singer performing in musical theatre musicalacteur cast member (P161) The class structure does not reflect the fact that this occupation is at the intersection of stage actor and singer. According to the only Wikipedia article that is linked to this item (in German), the occupation would typically also include dance.
child actor (Q970153) performing arts artist performing artist actor child actor child acting on stage or in motion pictures or television jeugdacteur cast member (P161)
acrobat (Q11957145) performing arts artist performing artist acrobat performer of acrobatics Akrobat / Akrobatin acrobat acrobaat acrobate acrobata акробат / акробатка cast member (P161)
dancer (Q5716684) performing arts artist performing artist dancer person who dances Tänzer / Tänzerin dancer danser danseur / danseuse danzatore / danzatrice танцор / танцовщица cast member (P161) Some definitions refer to a profession/occupation (sometimes without actually defining it); others follow the English example "person who dances", which is a much less specific term that does not designate a profession/occupation.


Several Wikipedia articles that are directly linked to the item stress the fact that a dancer is a person who dedicates themselves to the art of dance, be it professionally or as a hobby (es:"persona que se dedica al arte de bailar no solo profesionalmente, sino también como afición"). - This raises the issue of amateur occupations (pretty much all "professional" occupations can also be carried out as "amateur" occupations); what implications does this have for the definition of a "profession" / "occupation"?

ballet dancer (Q805221) performing arts artist performing artist dancer ballet dancer person who practices the art of ballet balletdanser cast member (P161)
ballerina (Q4070300) performing arts artist performing artist dancer ballet dancer ballerina female principal dancer in a ballet company ballerina cast member (P161) The English definition refers not to an occupation, but rather to the position of "prima ballerina". This is however not the case for most other languages.


This term has another particularity: There are some typically female professions for which some Wikipedias (in languages with gender-specific nouns) have a separate entry - as opposed to all other professions for which they would use the male form in its gender-neutral usage in the lemma.

performance artist (Q10774753) performing arts;

visual art

artist performing artist;

visual artist

performance artist person who practices performance art Performancekünstler / Performancekünstlerin performance artist performancekunstenaar performeur / performeuse artista performativo / artista performativa перформансист / перформансистка performer (P175) The definition of performance art (Q213156) has serious issues: In English, the term is defined as "artistic performance presented to an audience" (which would include any performance generally associated with the performing arts). The German definition, however, stresses the non-repetitive character of performance art (as opposed to the performing arts). - In order to be in line with the class structure here, that defines "performance artist" as subclass of both "performing artist" and "visual artist", the narrower definition should be applied.


As noted above, the term "visual artist" also has definition issues. In some languages the equivalent term refers to art forms that produce an object. Thus, those performance artists, who create an object as a result of their performance, could be considered "visual artists" also according to the German and French definitions. Those who don't would not be considered "visual artists" in that narrower sense of the term. It is therefore doubtful whether "performance art" should be generally subsumed under "visual art".

circus performer (Q17307272) performing arts;

visual art

artist performing artist;

visual artist

performance artist circus performer Zirkusdarsteller / Zirkusdarstellerin circus performer circusartiest artiste de cirque circense артист цирка / артистка цирка performer (P175)

cast member (P161)

Not necessarily a "performance artist" in the narrow sense of the term.

There are currently reasonable definitions only for Spanish and Portuguese.

The Italian definition is wrong, and most of the other languages don't have proper definitions.

clown (Q7358) performing arts;

visual art

artist performing artist;

visual artist

performance artist circus performer clown a comic performer often for children's entertainment Clown / Clownin clown clown clown paggliaccio / paggliaccia клоун / клоунесса performer (P175)

cast member (P161)

Not necessarily a "performance artist" in the narrow sense of the term.

Not necessarily a "circus performer".

Definitions vary across languages. Some describe a profession/occupation, other describe a particular character. Some stress the relation to circus (French, Spanish), others also mention theatre and estrada in addition to circus (Russian). The English and German definitions don't have references to particular genres of the performing arts.

magician (Q15855449) performing arts;

visual art

artist performing artist;

illusionist;

visual artist

performance artist magician entertainer who performs magic by creating the illusion of impossible or supernatural feats Zauberkünstler / Zauberkünstlerin magician goochelaar magicien / magicienne prestigiatore фокусник / фокусница performer (P175) Not necessarily a "performance artist" in the narrow sense of the term.
drag queen (Q337084) performing arts;

visual art

artist performing artist;

visual artist

performance artist drag queen person who dresses and acts with exaggerated femininity for performance purposes dragqueen performer (P175) Not necessarily a "performance artist" in the narrow sense of the term.
street artist (Q2914170) performing arts;

visual art

artist performing artist;

visual artist

street artist artist performing in public places, for gratuities straatartiest performer (P175)
entertainer (Q138858) performing arts artist performing artist entertainer person using acting, singing, etc. to entertain an audience entertainer performer (P175)
choreographer (Q2490358) performing arts artist; director choreographer person who creates choreographies Choreograf / Choreografin choreographer choreograaf choréographe coreografo / coreografa хореограф choreographer (P1809)
ballet master (Q805253) performing arts artist performing artist choreographer ballet master balletmeester choreographer (P1809)
répétiteur (Q1784753) opera

dance

artist musician pianist répétiteur accompanist or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers Korrepetitor répétiteur Correpetitor répétiteur répétiteur répétiteur choreographer (P1809)
figure skating choreographer (Q55284884) performing arts artist performing artist choreographer figure skating choreographer person who creates choreographies for figure skating choreograaf in het kunstrijden choreographer (P1809)
conductor (Q158852) performing arts;

music

artist;

director

performing artist;

musician;

music director

conductor person who directs a musical group during a performance Dirigent / Dirigentin conductor dirigent chef d'orchestre / ... direttore d'orchestra / direttrice d'orchestra дирижёр / ? musical conductor (P3300) According to some
chapelmaster (Q215793) performing arts;

music

artist;

director

performing artist;

musician;

music director

conductor kapellmeister kapelmeester musical conductor (P3300) - Doesn't designate an occupation, but rather a position.

Varying definitions over time.

choir director (Q1076502) performing arts;

music

artist;

director

performing artist;

musician;

music director

conductor choir director person who directs a choir koordirigent choral conductor (P5024) choral conductor (P5024)
bandleader (Q806349) performing arts;

music

artist;

director

performing artist; musician;

music director

conductor bandleader leader of a band of musicians orkestleider - Doesn't necessarily designate an occupation, but rather a position.

According to some definitions a sub-class of "entrepreneur".

musician (Q639669) music artist musician person who composes, conducts or performs music Musiker / Musikerin musician muzikant musicien / musicienne musicista музикант / музикантка performer (P175);

composer (P86);

musical conductor (P3300)

jazz musician (Q15981151) music artist musician jazz musician musician who plays jazz jazzmuzikant performer (P175)
composer (Q36834) music artist;

creator

musician;

author

composer musician who is an author of music in any form; person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition Komponist / Komponistin composer componist compositeur / compositrice compositore / compositrice композитор / композиторша composer (P86)
songwriter (Q753110) music;

writing

artist;

creator

musician;

author

composer songwriter person who writes the words or music (or both) to songs liedschrijver composer (P86) and/or

lyrics by (P676)

hymnwriter (Q13424456) music;

writing

artist;

creator

musician;

author

composer;

writer

songwriter;

lyricist;

religious writer

hymnwriter person who writes words, or both words and music, for religious songs hymne-schrijver composer (P86) and/or

lyrics by (P676)

singer-songwriter (Q488205) music;

writing

artist;

creator

musician;

author

composer;

vocalist

songwriter;

singer

singer-songwriter a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material singer-songwriter performer (P175);

composer (P86) and/or

lyrics by (P676)

music arranger (Q1643514) music artist musician music arranger musician who creates arrangements arrangeur adapted by (P5202)
vocalist (Q2643890) music artist musician vocalist artist using their voice as an instrument vocalist performer (P175)
singer (Q177220) music artist musician vocalist singer person singing for a listening audience Sänger / Sängerin singer zanger chanteur / chanteuse cantante певец / певица performer (P175);

cast member (P161)

rapper (Q2252262) music artist musician vocalist;

hip hop musician

rapper artist who speaks rhymes in a rhythm over music rapper performer (P175)
opera singer (Q2865819) music artist musician vocalist;

classical musician

singer;

-

opera singer singer who sings in operas operazanger performer (P175)
instrumentalist (Q1278335) music artist musician instrumentalist person who plays a musical instrument instrumentalist performer (P175)
pianist (Q486748) music artist musician instrumentalist pianist musician who plays the piano pianist performer (P175)
guitarist (Q855091) music artist musician instrumentalist guitarist musician who plays the guitar gitarist performer (P175)
jazz guitarist (Q6168364) music artist musician instrumentalist;

jazz musician

guitarist;

-

jazz guitarist guitarist who plays jazz jazzgitarist performer (P175)
violinist (Q1259917) music artist musician instrumentalist violinist musician who plays the violin violist performer (P175)
organist (Q765778) music artist musician instrumentalist organist musician who plays any type of organ organist performer (P175)
drummer (Q386854) music artist musician instrumentalist drummer percussionist who creates and accompanies music using drums drummer performer (P175) define as sub-class of "percussionist"?
saxophonist (Q12800682) music artist musician instrumentalist saxophonist musician who plays the saxophone saxofonist performer (P175)
cellist (Q13219637) music artist musician instrumentalist cellist musician who plays the cello cellist performer (P175)
trumpeter (Q12377274) music artist musician instrumentalist trumpeter musician who plays the trumpet trompettist performer (P175)
percussionist (Q4351403) music artist musician instrumentalist percussionist musician who plays percussion slagwerker performer (P175)
bassist (Q584301) music artist musician instrumentalist bassist musician who plays a bass instrument bassist performer (P175) In some languages, the definition is more restrictive, e.g. focusing only on the bass guitar (e.g. French). This should be corrected. The use of this item to designate an occupation might be questionnable given the fact that more specific items are available.

en-WP: "A bassist, or bass player, is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar, synthbass, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone."

clarinetist (Q118865) music artist musician instrumentalist clarinetist musician who plays the clarinet klarinettist performer (P175)
disc jockey (Q130857) music artist musician disk jockey person who plays recorded music for an audience diskjockey -
creator (Q2500638) (creativity) creator person who does creative work Urheber creator maker créateur / créatrice creatore / creatrice создатель creator (P170) "creativity" as field of occupation may be questionable.

In many languages there is a definition that stresses the creation of a work; the English and the Russian definitions focus on the process without mentioning the result. Maybe better: "originator of a creative work"

author (Q482980) writing creator author author or intellectual author of a linguistic work Autor / Autorin author auteur auteur / ... autore автор / авторша author (P50) Several Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, French, Catalan, Asturian, Galician, Brazilian Portuguese) use a definition that is not limited to the creation of linguistic works (and would therefore be co-extensive with "creator", which seems problematic). Most other languages limit the creatorshiop of an author to linguistic or written works.
writer (Q36180) writing creator author writer person who uses written words to communicate ideas and to produce works of literature Schriftsteller / Schriftstellerin writer schrijver écrivain scrittore писатель author (P50)
poet (Q49757) writing creator author writer poet person who writes poetry dichter author (P50)
playwright (Q214917) writing creator author writer playwright person who writes plays Dramatiker / Dramatikerin playwright toneelschrijver dramaturge (?) drammaturgo драматург (?) author (P50)
dramaturge (Q487596) writing creator author writer dramaturge person fulfilling an advisory role regarding the literary or dramaturgical aspects of theatre, opera or dance productions or within a theatre, opera or dance organization dramaturg dramaturge (P6086)
lyricist (Q822146) writing creator author writer lyricist writer who specializes in writing song lyrics liedtekstschrijver lyrics by (P676)
librettist (Q8178443) writing creator author writer librettist author of the libretto (words) of an opera or a similar extended musical composition librettist librettist (P87)
translator (Q333634) writing creator author writer translator person who translates written text from one language to another vertaler translator (P655) The definitions in some languages don't specifiy that translator (Q333634) focuses on written texts, as opposed to interpreter (Q11085831). Both are sub-classes of translator-interpreter (Q1790480). The definitions should be sharpened in several languages.
critic (Q6430706) writing creator author writer critic professional who makes a living communicating their opinions and assessments of various forms of creative work criticus - In most languages, the definition limits the field of criticism to creative works; not the German definition though, which is much more general.
music critic (Q1350157) writing creator author writer critic music critic person who writes reviews about music performances or recordings muziekcriticus -
theatre critic (Q17337766) writing creator author writer critic theatre critic person who writes reviews about theatre performances theatercriticus -
manager (Q2462658) management;

organizational leadership

manager person whose job is to manage something manager - "manager" does have a series of superclasses: "leader of organization", "leader" (subclass of "person"), "executive" (subclass of "professional", which in turn is a subclass of "human").

The German definition stresses the fact that a "manager" is an employee; this is not the case in several other languages.

director (Q3455803) (arts) artist;

manager

director (regisseur) director of a creative work Regisseur / Regisseurin director (?) regisseur metteur en scène (?) / metteuse en scène regista режиссёр / режиссёрка director (P57)
assistant director (Q1757008) (arts) artist;

manager

director (regisseur) assistant director assistant stage director of a performing arts, film or television production eerste regieassistent assistant director (P5126) Doesn't necessarily designate an occupation, but rather a role.
art director (Q706364) (arts) artist;

manager

director (regisseur) art director person responsible for leading teams in the artistic design and production of various kinds of visual art works Artdirector art director artdirector directeur artistique / directrice artistique direttore artistico / direttrice artistica арт-директор / ? art director (P3174) en-WP: "Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games.…" - In several languages, narrower definitions are being used, but they can be mutually exclusive, which is problematic.
theatrical director (Q3387717) theatre artist;

manager

director (regisseur) theater director person overseeing the mounting of a theatre production Bühnenregisseur / Bühnenregisseurin theater director toneelregisseur metteur en scène (?) / metteuse en scène regista teatrale театральный режиссёр / театральная режиссёрка director (P57)
opera director (Q28054786) theatre artist;

manager

director (regisseur) theater director opera director creative director in charge of staging an opera operaregisseur director (P57)
artistic director (Q1797162) theatre artist;

manager

director (regisseur) artistic director artistic leader of a cultural institution Künstlerischer Leiter / Künstlerische Leiterin artistic director artistiek directeur directeur artistique / directrice artistique direttore artistico / direttrice artistica художественный руководитель / художественная руководительница artistic director (P8938) -
music director (Q1198887) music director music director director of music, for an orchestra, film, radio station, etc. muziekdirecteur musical conductor (P3300) musical conductor (P3300) Should probably also be assigned the superclass of artist.

en-WP: "A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the director of music of a film, the director of music at a radio station, the person in charge of musical activities or the head of the music department in a school, the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a university, college, or institution"

artistic director (music) (Q4801269) music director music director artistic director person who directs a musical ensemble musical conductor (P3300) en-WP: "The typical jobs of a musical artistic director are to choose repertoire for the ensemble, come up with an artistic vision for the group and also a long-term strategy for programming, and also to help choose performers if the ensemble is not pre-set. An artistic director may also be—and often is—the conductor of the ensemble and a "jack of all trades", performing multiple roles and even managing the ensemble, although that role is often left to a Managing Director if financial resources are available. A musical artistic director essentially mirrors a theatrical artistic director, albeit working in a different medium."
theatre manager (Q1776724) theatre manager;

director

theatre manager person who manages a theatre Theaterleiter / Theaterleiterin theatre manager theatermanager directeur de théâtre (?) direttore teatrale директор театра (?) / -
stage manager (Q64825422) theatre manager stage manager person in charge of a theatre stage, equipment, scenery, etc during the rehearsals and performances of a play Inspizient / Inspizientin stage manager stage manager régisseur général / ... contributor to the creative work or subject (P767)
impresario (Q943995) theatre artist;

manager;

director

theatre manager;

director (regisseur)

artistic director impresario organizer of theatrical or musical performances impresario organizer (P664) also sub-class of theatrical producer?

en-WP: "An impresario (from the Italian impresa, "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer."

talent manager (Q1320883) theatre artist;

manager;

director

theatre manager;

director (regisseur)

artistic director impresario talent manager person who guides the career of an artist artiestenmanager - The definition as sub-class of "impresario" seems to be wrong.

In some languages, the definition also includes companies. This should be corrected. If an item is needed for talent manager (type of company), a separate item should be created.

scenographer (Q2707485) theatre;

filmmaking

creator designer;

decorator

scenographer person who develops the appearance of a stage design or a TV or movie set Bühnenbilder / Bühnenbildnerin scenographer scenograaf scénographe scenografo / scenografa сценограф scenographer (P4608)
theatre designer (Q26869657) theatre artist visual artist decorator theatre designer person who designs the visual environment of the stage in a play or opera theatre designer decorontwerper décorateur de théâtre / décoratrice de théâtre театральный дизайнер / театральная дизайнерша production designer (P2554)
tailor (Q242468) tailoring creator fashion person;

textile worker

tailor person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally Schneider / Schneiderin tailor kleermaker tailleur / tailleuse sarto / sarta портной / портниха contributor to the creative work or subject (P767)
costume designer (Q1323191) theatre creator fashion person;

textile worker

tailor costume designer person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show Kostümbildner / Kostümbildnerin costume designer kostuumontwerper costumier / costumière costumista художник по костюмам / художница по костюмам costume designer (P2515) Is the costume designer always a tailor? - See for example the costume designs by Golovin for the Masquerade (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Masquerade_by_Golovin)
puppet maker (Q67138053) craft creator;

tradesperson

artisan puppet maker artisan who creates puppets Puppenbauer / Puppenbauerin puppet maker facteur de marionnettes contributor to the creative work or subject (P767) Tradesperson is also a subclass of worker; and there are modelling issues related to this class (cf. comment regarding hairdresser)
make-up artist (Q935666) theatre creator fashion person make-up artist artist whose medium is the human body Maskenbildner / Maskenbildnerin make-up artist visagist maquilleur / maquilleuse truccatore / truccatrice визажист / визажистка make-up artist (P4805)
hairdresser (Q55187) hairdressing creator;

manual worker*

fashion person;

manual worker*

hairdresser person whose occupation is to cut or style hair Friseur / Friseuse hairdresser kapper coiffeur / coiffeuse parrucchiere парикмахер / парикмахерша contributor to the creative work or subject (P767) There are some modelling issues related to the classes of manual worker / blue-collar worker (circular relationships, mix-up between occupation and type of employment)
lighting designer (Q1823479) theatre creator designer lighting designer person responsible for lighting on a stage Lichtgestalter / Lichtgestalterin lighting designer lichtontwerper éclairagiste художник по свету / художница по свету lighting designer (P5026)
sound designer (Q3024424) theatre creator designer sound designer someone who works in the field of sound design geluidsontwerper sound designer (P5028)
video designer theatre creator designer video designer someone who works in the field of video design video designer (P5880) Occupation item needs to be created.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_design

projection designer theatre creator designer projection designer person responsible for producing the moving and still images that are displayed during a live performance projection designer (P5881) Occupation item needs to be created.
stagehand (Q2328828) theatre stagehand person who works backstage at a performance contributor to the creative work or subject (P767)
theatrical technician (Q1020621) performing arts stagehand;

technician

theatrical technician person who operates technical equipment and systems in the performing arts and entertainment industry Bühnentechniker / Bühnentechnikerin theatrical technician theatertechnicus technicien de théâtre / technicienne de théâtre scenotecnico / scenotecnica contributor to the creative work or subject (P767)
property master (Q1430377) theatre stagehand;

technician

theatrical technician property master person who is responsible for purchasing, acquiring, manufacturing, properly placing, and/or overseeing any props needed for a film, television or theatrical production rekwisiteur contributor to the creative work or subject (P767)
fly crew (Q5463244) fly crew (?) cintrier / ... contributor to the creative work or subject (P767) This one is a collective in English and an individual professional in French; the items probably need to be split.
dresser (Q5307082) theatre dresser theater professional responsible for assisting cast members with costumes dresser habilleur / habilleuse contributor to the creative work or subject (P767)
prompter (Q1126281) theatre prompter person in theatre or opera who prompts or cues actors or singers when they forget their lines or movements Soffleur / Souffleuse prompter souffleur souffleur / souffleuse suggeritore суфлёр / суфлёрша contributor to the creative work or subject (P767) English Wikipedia has two entries for prompoter - one for theatre and one for opera, see: prompter (Q28454909)

Should the prompter be assigned to a specific superclass of occupations?

animal trainer (Q8011071) human-animal relationships animal attendant animal trainer person who trains animals Tiertrainer / Tiertrainerin animal trainer dierentrainer dresseur / dresseuse ammaestratore / ammaestratrice дрессировщик / дрессировщица contributor to the creative work or subject (P767)
theatrical producer (Q1759246) performing arts;

entrepreneurship

artist;

producer

theatrical producer person who oversees the staging of theatre productions Theaterproduzent / Theaterproduzentin theatrical producer theaterproducent producteur de théâtre / productrice de théâtre produttore teatrale / produttrice teatrale театральный продюсер /

театральная продюсерша

producer (P162) "producer" is a subclass of "enterpreneur", i.e. an "individual who organizes and operates a business, taking on financial risk to do so."

Notes on occupations edit

Work-related information can and should sometimes be modelled with properties other than occupation (P106). These other work properties can be used as a main statement or can be stated as a qualifier to the occupation statement. This being said, properties used as main statements are easier to query and enable better data reuse.

Voice Types and Fach edit

There are two WD properties to indicate the voice type of opera singers and operatic roles: voice type (P412) and its sub-property Fach (P1731). While the seven basic voice types (soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass) mainly refer to the vocal range and the gender, the German Fach system is a method for classifying opera singers (and operatic roles) according to the range, weight, and color of the (required) voice. While the Fach system is largely aligned with the seven basic voice types, it comprises more specific types which sometimes make reference to the type of role corresponding to the type (e.g. buffo, character role, etc.).

In order to maximize consistency and to avoid keeping a lot of redundant information, the basic voice types are indicated using the voice type (P412) property. Where more specific information is available (Fach or similar), it is indicated by means of the Fach (P1731) property. Furthermore, the ontology is designed in a way to ensure that each instance of Fach (Q1748957) is defined as a sub-class of one of the basic voice types. Thereby, it is possible that the basic voice types typically associated with female voices may have sub-classes associated with male voices (e.g. the Fächer "sopranist", "boy soprano", and "soprano castrato" are all sub-classes of the female voice type "soprano"). Note that voice type indications such as "boy soprano" or "soprano castrato" are also treated as "Fächer", even though they are not necessarily part of modern "Fach" systems. Up until the 19th century, many opera parts were originally written for castrato voices, but are today either transposed or performed by female singers. In these cases, the original Fach indication mainly serves a historical purpose.

Note that in some languages (e.g. in English) a slightly different, but overlapping terminology is used for choral voices, while in other languages (e.g. in German), the same terminology is used. This poses a problem when it comes to mapping the different terms across languages as the erroneous mappings of contralto (Q37137) illustrate (e.g. en:contralto = de:Kontra-Alt, which is wrong).

The table below gives an overview of voice types and Fächer as well as their designations in various languages.

WD item Voice type Fach gender de en es fr it ru Comments
soprano (Q30903) soprano - female Sopran soprano soprano soprano soprano сопрано
coloratura soprano (Q58192) soprano coloratura soprano female Koloratursopran coloratura soprano, coloratura-soprano soprano de coloratura soprano colorature soprano di coloratura, soprano d'agilità колоратурное сопрано
light coloratura soprano (Q53828775) soprano -- light coloratura soprano female leichter Koloratursopran light coloratura soprano soprano de coloratura ligera soprano léger colorature soprano leggero di coloratura, soprano leggero d'agilità лёгкое колоратурное сопрано
light soprano (Q3822738) soprano light soprano female leichter Sopran light soprano soprano ligera soprano léger soprano leggero лёгкое сопрано
Soubrette (Q836983) soprano soubrette female Soubrette, Spielsopran soubrette, acting soprano soprano soubrette soubrette soprano soubrette cубре́тка
coloratura soubrette (Q53828788) soprano -- coloratura soubrette female Koloratursoubrette coloratura soubrette soubrette colorature
soprano -- German soubrette female deutsche Soubrette German soubrette soubrette allemande
soprano -- female romanisch-französische Soubrette
Soubrette (Q53828789) soprano character soprano female Charaktersopran character soprano soprano de caractère
lyric soprano (Q1401208) soprano lyric soprano female lyrischer Sopran lyric soprano, soprano lirico, high lyric soprano, high soprano soprano lyrique soprano lirico лирическое сопрано
lyric coloratura soprano (Q37952097) soprano -- lyric coloratura soprano female lyrischer Koloratursopran lyric coloratura soprano, high coloratura soprano soprano lyrique colorature soprano lirico di coloratura лирико-колоратурное сопрано
light-lyric soprano (Q3964990) soprano -- light lyric soprano female leichter lyrischer Sopran light lyric soprano, light high soprano soprano lírica legera soprano lyrique léger soprano lirico-leggero лёгкое лирическое сопрано
spinto soprano (Q2327598) soprano -- lirico-spinto soprano female jugendlich dramatischer Sopran, lyrisch-dramatischer Sopran, Spintosopran lirico-spinto soprano, lyric dramatic soprano, spinto soprano,

spinto lyric soprano

soprano lirico spinto soprano lirico-spinto лирико-драматическое сопрано
dramatic soprano (Q2164335) soprano dramatic soprano female dramatischer Sopran dramatic soprano, full dramatic soprano, spinto soprano soprano dramática soprano dramatique soprano drammatico драматическое сопрано
dramatic coloratura soprano (Q53828951) soprano -- dramatic coloratura soprano female dramatischer Koloratursopran dramatic coloratura soprano soprano de coloratura dramática soprano colorature dramatique soprano di coloratura drammatico драматическое колоратурное сопрано
Wagnerian soprano (Q3964989) soprano Wagnerian soprano female hochdramatischer Sopran heroic soprano, Wagnerian soprano, high dramatic soprano soprano wagnérien soprano wagneriano, soprano drammatico tedesco, soprano di Wagner
soprano Falcon (Q3964985) soprano Falcon soprano female Falcon-Sopran Falcon soprano, falcon soprano, falcon soprano Falcon
sopranist (Q1999862) soprano sopranist male Männersopran sopranist,

sopranista, male soprano

sopranista sopraniste sopranista definitions need cleaning up
soprano falsettist (Q53829462) soprano soprano falsettist male Sopran-Falsettist soprano falsettist falsettista sopranista falsettiste sopraniste falsettisto sopranista
child soprano (Q53829839) soprano child soprano - Kindersopran treble soprano d'enfant детское сопрано
boy soprano (Q1376492) soprano -- boy soprano (male) Knabensopran, Jungensopran boy soprano, boy treble, treble soprano de garçon мальчиковое сопрано
girl soprano (Q53830131) soprano -- girl soprano (female) Mädchensopran girl soprano
soprano castrato (Q53830255) soprano soprano castrato (male) Kastratensopran, Kastraten-Sopran, Soprankastrat, Sopran-Kastrat soprano castrato castrat soprano castrato sopranista кастрат-сопрано, кастрат сопрано
mezzo-soprano (Q186506) mezzo-soprano - female Mezzosopran mezzo-soprano, mezzo mezzosoprano, mesosoprano mezzo-soprano mezzosoprano меццо-сопрано
coloratura mezzo-soprano (Q54634572) mezzo-soprano coloratura mezzo-soprano female Koloratur-Mezzosopran coloratura mezzo-soprano mezzo-soprano colorature колоратурное меццо-сопрано
light mezzo-soprano (Q54634726) mezzo-soprano ight mezzo-soprano female leichter Mezzosopran light mezzo-soprano mezzosoprano ligera mezzo-soprano léger, mezzo-soprano dugazon mezzoroprano leggero,

mezzosoprano acuto

lyric mezzo-soprano (Q1878954) mezzo-soprano lyric mezzo-soprano female lyrischer Mezzosopran lyric mezzo-soprano mezzosoprano lírica mezzo-soprano lyrique mezzosoprano lirico, mezzosoprano centrale лирическое меццо-сопрано
character mezzo-soprano (Q54634862) mezzo-soprano character mezzo-soprano female Charakter-Mezzosopran character mezzo-soprano mezzo-soprano de caractère
dramatic mezzo-soprano (Q6012297) mezzo-soprano dramatic mezzo-soprano female dramatischer Mezzosopran dramatic mezzo soprano mezzosoprano dramática mezzo-soprano dramatique mezzosoprano drammatico, mezzosoprano grave драматическое меццо-сопрано
mezzo-soprano castrato (Q54634945) mezzo-soprano mezzo-soprano castrato (male) Kastraten-Mezzosopran mezzo-soprano castrato castrat mezzo-soprano кастрат меццо-сопрано
alto (Q54634991) alto - - Alt, Altus alto alto alto alto альт 1. voice with a vocal range corresponding to contralto and countertenor
alto (Q6983813) alto - female Alt alto alto 2. female choral voice
boy alto (Q53395277) alto boy alto (male) Knabenalt boy alto, boy contralto
alto castrato (Q53395016)) alto alto castrato (mal) Kastraten-Alt, Alt-Kastrat alto castrato, contralto castrato castrat contraltiste кастрат-альт
contralto (Q37137)) contralto - female Alt contralto contralto contralto contralto контральто
coloratura contralto (Q54635184) contralto coloratura contralto female Koloraturalt coloratura contralto contralto de coloratura contralto colorature колоратурный альт
lyric contralto (Q54635214) contralto lyric contralto female lyrischer Alt lyric contralto, lyric alto contralto lyrique
acting alto (Q5785182) contralto acting alto female Spielalt, komischer Alt acting alto, comic contralto, light contralto contralto cómica, contralto buffa alto bouffe
dramatic contralto (Q54635298) contralto dramatic contralto female dramatischer Alt dramatic contralto, dramatic alto contralto dramática contralto dramatique
deep contralto (Q54635335) contralto deep contralto female Kontra-Alt, Kontraalt, tiefer Alt deep contralto, low contralto, low alto
contratenor (Q223166)) countertenor - male Kontratenor,

Kontertenor,

Countertenor,

Altus,

Männeralt

countertenor,

counter-tenor,

contratenor,

contratenor contreténor controtenore контратенор
tenor (Q27914)) tenor - male Tenor tenor tenor ténor tenore тенор
Tenore contraltino (Q3983766) tenor tenor contraltino male Haute-Contre, Altino tenore contraltino, tenor contraltino, tenor altino, haute-contre, very high tenor haute-contre tenore contraltino тенор-альтино
coloratura tenor (Q54635368) tenor coloratura tenor male Koloraturtenor coloratura tenor ténor colorature
light tenor (Q54635391) tenor light tenor male leichter Tenor light tenor, high tenor, high light tenor ténor léger tenore leggiero легкий тенор
tenore di grazia (Q1471878) tenor tenore di grazia male Tenore di grazia, leichter Tenor mit Koloratur tenore di grazia tenore di grazia тенор «ди-грация»
lyric tenor (Q359282)) tenor lyric tenor male lyrischer Tenor lyric tenor tenor lírico tenore lirico лирический тенор
buffo tenor (Q359278) tenor buffo tenor male Spieltenor, Tenorbuffo acting tenor, comic tenor, tenore buffo,

high buffo tenor

tenore buffo
spinto tenor (Q54635582) tenor spinto tenor male jugendlich-dramatischer Tenor, jugendlicher Heldentenor young dramatic tenor, spinto tenor, lirico-spinto tenor лирико-драматический тенор
character tenor (Q1062991) tenor character tenor male Charaktertenor character tenor, character-tenor ténor de caractère
Heldentenor (Q1601762)) tenor heldentenor male Heldentenor heroic tenor, heavy dramatic tenor, dramatic tenor, low tenor драматический тенор
tenor Trial (Q54635669) tenor tenor Trial male Trial-Tenor tenor Trial, tenor trial
baritenor (Q2338646) baritenor - male Baritenor baritenor баритональный тенор
baritone (Q31687) baritone - male Bariton baritone barítono baryton baritono баритон
Verdi baritone (Q54635681) baritone Verdi baritone male Verdi-Bariton Verdi baritone barítono verdiano baryton Verdi baritono verdiano
baryton-Martin (Q21478751) baritone light baritone male leichter Bariton, Bariton Martin light baritone, baryton Martin barítono ligero baryton léger, baryton Martin baritono leggero, baritono chiaro, baryton-martin тенор-баритон
lyric baritone (Q54635717) baritone lyric baritone male lyrischer Bariton lyric baritone, high baritone barítono lírico baryton lyrique baritono lirico, baritono cantabile лирический баритон
acting baritone (Q54635751) baritone acting baritone male Spielbariton acting baritone
Kavalierbariton (Q54635784) baritone Kavalierbariton male Kavalierbariton Kavalierbariton, cavalier baritone baritono lirico-drammatico, baritono spinto лирико-драматический баритон
baryton-noble (Q19740895) baritone baryton-noble male nobler Bariton baryton-noble baryton noble
dramatic baritone (Q8243257) baritone dramatic baritone male dramatischer Bariton dramatic baritone, low baritone barítono dramático baryton dramatique baritono drammatico драматический баритон
character baritone (Q1062931) baritone character baritone male Charakterbariton character baritone baryton de caractère
buffo baritone (Q5721499) baritone buffo baritone male Baritonbuffo buffo baritone barítono buffo
Heldenbaritone (Q1601737) baritone heldenbaritone male Heldenbariton Heldenbaritone, heroic baritone
bass-baritone (Q810480) bass-baritone - male Bassbariton bass-baritone, bass baritone, deep baritone bajo-barítono baryton-basse, taille, haute-taille basso-baritono бас-баритон,

баритональный бас

intermediate voice type
lyric bass-baritone (Q54635842) bass-baritone lyric bass-baritone male lyrischer Bassbariton lyric bass-baritone
dramatic bass-baritone (Q54635897) bass-baritone dramatic bass-baritone male dramatischer Bassbariton dramatic bass-baritone
bass (Q27911) bass - male Bass bass bajo basse basso бас
high bass (Q54636007) bass high bass male hoher Bass high bass высокий бас
lyric high bass (Q3636053) bass lyric high bass male Basso cantante, lyrischer hoher Bass basso cantante, basse chantante, lyric high bass bajo cantante, bajo ligero basse chantante, basse-taille basso cantante, basso-cantante бас-кантанте
dramatic high bass (Q54636036) bass dramatic high bass male dramatischer hoher Bass dramatic high bass
serious bass (Q54636068) bass serious bass male seriöser Bass serious bass
buffo bass (Q1002146) bass buffo bass male Bassbuffo, Spielbass buffo bass, basso buffo, acting bass, comic bass bajo buffo basse bouffe basso buffo, basso leggero комический бас бас-буффо
character bass (Q20638448) bass character bass male Chrakterbass character bass bajo caractère характерный бас
basso profondo (Q2532487) bass basso profondo male dramatischer Basso Profondo, schwarzer Bass basso profondo, basso profundo, low bass, deep bass bajo profundo basse profonde, basse noble, basse Nivette, basse-contre basso profondo бас-профундо, низкий бас, глубокий бас
heavy acting bass (Q54636271) bass heavy acting bass male Schwerer Spielbass, Schwerer Bassbuffo heavy acting bass, heavy comic bass
octavist (Q7082656) bass octavist male Oktavist octavist октавист

Collectives edit

WDitem Voice Indication de en es fr it ru Comments
choir (Q131186) chorus Chor chorus
n/a opera chorus Opernchor opera chorus use choir (Q131186)
n/a voller Chor use choir (Q131186)
chamber choir (Q1723154) chamber choir Kammerchor chamber choir
n/a Chor auf der Bühne use choir (Q131186) in combination with role (Q1707847)
n/a Chor hinter der Szene use choir (Q131186) in combination with offstage role (Q54288259)
mixed choir (Q3276909) mixed chorus gemischter Chor mixed chorus
men's chorus (Q1684352) men's chorus Männerchor men's chorus, male chorus
n/a kleiner Männerchor use men's chorus (Q1684352)
women's chorus (Q1451652) female choir Frauenchor, Mädchenchor female choir
youth choir (Q591250) youth choir Jugendchor
children's choir (Q1753063) children's choir Kinderchor children's choir
boys' choir (Q1776834) boys' choir Knabenchor
girls' choir (Q53869202) girls choir Mädchenchor
Q54290445 Sprechchor

See also: einstimmiger, zweistimmiger, dreistimmiger etc. Chor; 16 Sänger, 24 Kinder, etc.;

Further Voice or Role Indications edit

WDitem Role or Voice Indication de en es fr it ru Comments
female singing voice (Q54285818) female singing voice Frauenstimme female singing voice, female voice, female singer
male singing voice (Q54285279) male singing voice Männerstimme male singing voice, male voice, male singer
boy soprano (Q6164901) child's voice Kinderstimme
castrato (Q210970) castrato voice Kastratenstimme castrato voice, castrato
serious role seriöses Fach
Spiel- und Charackterfach
character role (Q54290928) Charakterrolle, Charakterfach
buffo (Q53837302) buffo Buffo buffo buffo
extended voice artist (Q54289488) extended voice artist extended voice artist
Sprechgesang (Q1500983) -- sprechgesang Sprechgesang, Sprechstimme Sprechgesang, Sprechstimme
(skip for now) microphoned singer
Q54290196 Chorrolle, Chorsolist
silent role (Q1605169) silent role stumme Rolle silent role, mute role, silent actor, does not sing, non-singing, non singing, non-speaking, non speaking, tacet, mute
speaking role (Q1312022) spoken role Sprechrolle speaking role, speaking part, spoken part, spoken
child role (Q54287532) child role Kinderrolle child role
offstage role (Q54288259) offstage role Stimme aus dem Off offstage role
breeches role (Q849959) breeches role breeches role, en travesti, trouser role See also: travesti (Q16764901) – needs cleaning up.
actor (Q33999) actor Schauspieler, Schauspielerin actor, actress
mime artist (Q674067) mime artist Pantomime mime artist, mime
dancer (Q5716684) dancer dancer
narrator (Q755070) narrator narrator
speaker (Q28503751) speaker speaker
Ballet, Tanz
Musikanten, Musiker, Musikerinnen
Statisten, Statisterie, Komparsen


Artefacts Documenting Activities Related to the Performing Arts edit

To edit this section, click here.

The table below contains an overview of artefacts related to the performing arts, which are often collected and preserved in order to document activities and the works of this ephemeral art form.

The table contains a tentative typology of such artefacts. We thereby differentiate between the following types of artefacts:

  • Artefacts documenting the creative process and its results:
    • Artefacts documenting the creative process ahead of the first official representation (premiere) of a given work
    • Artefacts documenting the representations and the immediate reception of a given work
    • Artefacts documenting the "afterlife", i.e. the long-term reception and impact, of a given work
  • Artefacts documenting administrative processes
  • Artefacts documenting the infrastructure used

The table also indicates the preferred properties to be used to point to respective entries in archival finding aids and collection catalogues. See Estermann (2020)[1] for an example implementation of such references on Wikidata. Thus, the table, along with the practices proposed in the referenced report provide the basis for the creation of a "WorldCat" of the performing arts, i.e. a comprehensive catalogue of artefacts documenting the performing arts. Wikidata provides the possibility to add such references to various types of Wikidata items, such as items describing performing arts productions; individual performances; people and organizations involved in the performing arts; cultural venues; literary, musical, and choreographic works, etc. Given the richness of the performing arts domain, the approach proposed here can eventually be used to create similar catalogues of artefacts for a variety of other domains. Note, however, that the implementation of the approach is (as of 2023) still at an experimental stage.

We currently (as of 2023) suggest the use of the following properties to point to said artefacts:

  • archives at (P485) – to point to archival fonds, typically consisting of two-dimensional artefacts that have been gathered and organized according to the principle of provenance
  • documentation files at (P10527) – to point to documentation, typcally consisting of two-dimensional artefacts that have been gathered and organized according to the principle of pertinence (see also its subproperty artist files at (P9493))
  • oral history at (P9600) – to point to oral history recordings or transcripts of interviews with contemporary witnesses
  • personal library at (P9419) – to point to the personal library of the respective person
  • object collection at (property to be created) to point to an object collection, typcially consisting of three-dimensional artefacts
  • video recording(s) at (property to be created) to point to a video recording of a given subject (event, performing arts production, place, person, etc.)
  • audio recording(s) at (property to be created) to point to an audio recording of a given subject (event, performing arts production, person, etc.)
  • photograph collection at (property to be created? - or can this be covered by documentation files at (P10527) with a has part(s) of the class (P2670) qualifier?) to point to a photograph collection documenting a given subject (event, performing arts production, person, place, etc.)

To further specify the types of artefacts that are included in an archive, a documentation file, or an object collection, a has part(s) of the class (P2670) qualifier is to be used.

WD item Definition Documentation of ... aspects de en es fr it ru Preferred Properties Comments
advertising material (Q1554180) objectified form of an advertising message artistic Werbemittel advertising material (promotional material) material publicitario matériel publicitaire materiale promozionale archives at (P485)documentation files at (P10527)
annual report (Q699735) yearly report on a company's or other organization's activities administrative Geschäftsbericht annual report rapport annuel relazione annuale archives at (P485)
association magazine (Q2514037) magazine published by a membership organization and distributed to its members administrative;

artistic; infrastructural

Vereinszeitschrift association magazine magazine associatif archives at (P485)
audio recording (Q3302947) single object representing recorded audio data in the form of audio signals on analogue or digital media artistic Tonaufnahme audio recording enregistrement audio registrazione audio audio recoding(s) at
autograph (Q9026959) document written by hand administrative;

artistic

Autograph autograph autographe autografo archives at (P485)documentation files at (P10527)
bulletin (Q88163834) short report, especially one released through official channels to be broadcast or publicized administrative;

artistic; infrastructural

Bulletin bulletin bulletin archives at (P485)documentation files at (P10527)
costume (Q1410477) clothes used by performers on stage; particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a character or type of character at a social event in a theatrical performance on the stage or in film or television artistic Kostüm costume costume costumi teatrali object collection at
costume sketch (Q29642784) rough drawing of a theatrical, film, or television costume artistic Kostümskizze (Kostümdesign) costume sketch archives at (P485) Terminology and definitions should be aligned across languages (the Italian and French concepts refer to the design of clothes in general; not specific to the performing arts or film).
dance notation [item to be created] artistic Tanznotation dance notation Notation du mouvement notazione della danza archives at (P485) dance notation (Q34175) refers to the technique, not to an artefact.
documentary film (Q93204) type of non-fictional motion picture artistic;

infrastructural

Dokumentationssendung documentary film film documentaire documentario object collection at
doll (Q168658) model of a character or a human beings, often used as a toy for children or an artistic hobby for adults artistic Puppe doll poupée bambola archives at (P485)
Finger puppet (Q26799112) A puppet worn on a person's finger artistic Fingerpuppe Finger puppet marionnette à doigt object collection at
hand puppet (Q14875) Puppet put over the hand artistic Handpuppe hand puppet marionnette à gaine burattino object collection at
libretto (Q131084) text used for an extended musical work Libretto libretto livret libretto documentation files at (P10527)
lighting instructions, lighting design [item to be created] infrastructural Lichttechnik lighting technic éclairagisme illuminotecnica object collection at lighthing technic (Q17177506) refers to the technique, and not to the artefact. lighting design (Q1823302) refers to the activity, and not to the artefact.
magazine article (Q30070590) written piece, published in a magazine, or on a magazine-style website Magazinartikel magazine article article de magazine articolo di rivista documentation files at (P10527)
marionette (Q189888) puppet controlled from above using wires or strings artistic Marionette marionette marionnette à fils marionetta object collection at
mask (Q161524) any full or partial face covering, whether ceremonial, protective, decorative, or used as disguise artistic Maske mask masque maschera object collection at
minutes (Q2085515) written details of a meeting administrative Ergebnisprotokoll minutes compte-rendu de réunion verbale di riunione documentation files at (P10527)
negative (Q595597) image on photographic film in which color and brightness are inverted Negativfilm negative film négatif pellicola per negativi archives at (P485)
newspaper clipping (Q14552560) an excerpt cut from a newspaper or magazine Zeitungsausschnitt newspaper clipping coupure de presse ritaglio di giornale documentation files at (P10527)
Leporello book (Q361880) booklet comprised of alternately folded pages artistic Leporello orihon leporello leporello documentation files at (P10527)
periodical (Q1002697) serial publication that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule Periodikum periodical périodique periodico documentation files at (P10527)
photograph (Q125191) image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface Fotografie photograph photographie foto archives at (P485)
playbill (Q2416316) program or poster announcing a theatrical performance Theaterzettel playbill affiche locandina del teatro documentation files at (P10527)
poster (Q429785) type of graphic advertisement Plakat poster affiche manifesto archives at (P485)
programme (Q1508646) booklet available for patrons attending a live event Programmheft programme programme documentation files at (P10527)
puppet (Q1913135) inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer artistic Theaterpuppe puppet pupazzo object collection at
rag doll (Q2918349) doll with a stuffed cloth body and head artistic Stoffpuppe rag doll Poupée de chiffon object collection at
review (Q265158) evaluation of a publication, service, company, piece of hardware, event, exhibition, or performance Rezension review critique recensione documentation files at (P10527)
rod puppet (Q2325433) puppet constructed around a central rod secured to the head artistic Stabfigur Rod puppet marionnette à tige object collection at
schedule (Q7271585) time management tool listing times when events are intended to take place Zeitplan documentation files at (P10527)
screenplay (Q103076) written work by screenwriters for a film or television program Drehbuch screenplay scénario sceneggiatura documentation files at (P10527)
seasonal programme (Q51176294) programme of a performing arts company, venue, or troupe featuring all the performances and casts of a given season Saisonprogramm seasonal programme programme de la saison stagione teatrale documentation files at (P10527)
stage curtain (Q945148) large piece of cloth designed to mask backstage areas of a theater from spectators infrastructural Vorhang stage curtain rideau de théâtre object collection at
stage design (Q55619117) design of the stage setup of a performing arts production Bühnenbildentwurf stage design Modèle de décor de théâtre regia archives at (P485)
statement of accounts (Q55892549) A statement of accounts is a document that reflects all transactions that took place between you and a particular customer for a given period of time administrative Rechenschaftsbericht statement of accounts rapport d'activité documentation files at (P10527)
statutes (Q55892549) a law that has been formally approved and written down administrative Statuten statutes statuts documentation files at (P10527) Terminology and definitions should be aligned across languages (e.g. the English term does not correspond to the terms in German and French).
storyboard

(Q334667)

graphic organizer in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a story Storyboard storyboard storyboard archives at (P485)
text (Q234460) object that can be "read" by reader; result of writing Text text texte testo archives at (P485)
theatrical property(Q942297) movable physical object used on a motion picture, television, or stage set that are not costume artistic Requisite theatrical property accessoire materiale di scena object collection at
toy theatre (Q1751712) miniature theatre artistic Papiertheater toy theatre théâtre de papier object collection at
video recording(Q30070675) single work, or take, made using the medium of video artistic Videoaufnahme video recording enregistrement vidéo archives at (P485)
yearbook (Q10283140) publication documenting events of a year Jahrbuch yearbook album de finissants documentation files at (P10527)
  1. Estermann, B. (2020). Wikidata for Libraries Hackday Series. Switzerland Report. This Month in GLAM, Volume X, Issue I, January 2020.