Title role

The title role in the performing arts is the performance part that gives the title to the piece, as in Aida, Giselle, Michael Collins or Othello. The actor, singer or dancer who performs that part is also said to have the title role.

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The actor playing the title role is not always the lead; the title role may or may not be the protagonist. In the television miniseries Shogun, for example, Toshiro Mifune had the title role, but the lead was played by Richard Chamberlain.

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Sometimes the name of the title character is not the name of the piece, as in The French Lieutenant's Woman. The title may also be deliberately ambiguous for literary effect; in An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde is the 'ideal husband' (the title role) the apparently-perfect Sir Robert Chiltern, or is it the enigmatic Lord Goring, supposedly a confirmed bachelor? In this case, which of the acting co-leads has the title role?

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Performing arts: The performing arts include theater, motion pictures, drama, comedy, music, dance, opera, magic and the marching arts, such as brass bands, etc. Artists who participate in these arts are called performers, including actors, comedians, singers, dancers, and musicians....

Part: As a noun, a part is a section of a greater whole. It is normally an intentional segment rather than one caused by dissection. See e.g. Standard Industrial Classification for various categories....

Aida: :This article is about the opera, Aida. For other uses of the term, see Aida (disambiguation)...

Title role related Images and Photos (experimental)

Sybil Sanderson Takes the Title Role in This Story of the Egyptian Courtesan	Richard Chamberlain with Actress in TV Title Role for "Dr. Kildare"	Title Unknown	Title Unknown
Title Unknown	Role Models	Role Models DVD (Widescreen)	Title Page Illustration
Role Reversal: Dirty Hipies	Title Page for "The Odyssey" by Homer	Role Models Blu-ray DVD	Title Page of Little Women