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ballad opera

noun
  1. a theater entertainment of 18th-century England, consisting of popular tunes, folk songs, and dialogue.
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Origin of ballad opera

First recorded in 1770–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ballad opera

Historical Examples of ballad opera

  • It was one of the best examples of ballad-opera ever written.

    A Short History of English Music

    Ernest Ford

  • In 1762 also was produced the ballad-opera Love in a Cottage.

  • Mr. Lillo had previously written a ballad-opera, "Sylvia;" but now he aimed to show the hideousness and consequence of vice.

British Dictionary definitions for ballad opera

ballad opera

noun
  1. an opera consisting of popular tunes to which appropriate words have been set, interspersed with spoken dialogue
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012