"mark"

[GEORGE THOMPSON]

A recent issue of the NY Times uses a word from the jargon of opera
singers which I don't find either in OED or the Harvard Dictionary of
Music.  The artice is discussing the strenuous effort required to
sing the role of Tristan, in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

During these rehersals most singers "mark," that it, sing in
half-voice, leaving out high notes altogether.
New York Times, December 6, 1999, in the article on Ben Heppner on
the front page of the Arts section.

GAT