Other forms: recitatives
Recitative is a kind of music with rhythms that sound like regular speaking. You'll usually hear recitative in opera.
Most classical operas are a mix of arias (melodic, expressive songs) and recitatives, which are meant to move the plot along or fill in information in the story. While the arias are the most beautiful parts of an opera, recitatives are much less memorable. The word comes from the Italian recitativo, and goes back to the Latin recitare, "read aloud."