buffo
Americannoun
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(in opera) a comedy part, usually bass.
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a male opera singer who specializes in comic roles.
noun
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(in Italian opera of the 18th century) a comic part, esp one for a bass
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Also called: buffo bass. basso buffo. a bass singer who performs such a part
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of buffo
1755–65; < Italian: ridiculous, comic actor who takes comic parts; back formation from buffone buffoon
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“To me, it’s the greatest of these buffo arias,” Colaneri said.
From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2022
Clarissa Lyons as Stonatrilla, the slightly over-the-hill prima donna, had an arresting, magisterial voice and presence; Kihun Yoon as Sospiro, the librettist, had a huge rich baritone and natural buffo flair.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 17, 2016
As the music strikes up, and the book’s characters are introduced in comic buffo style, you wonder if you’re in for a meal of wise-ass lit-lampoonery.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 2013
Jordan Bisch brought a robust sound and buffo presence to Kecal, the scheming marriage-fixer.
From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2011
Her mother sang and the buffo singer gave some of his songs.
From Camilla: A Tale of a Violin Being the Artist Life of Camilla Urso by Barnard, Charles
"I was much entertained," he said, "by one of my buffos, who introduced London street cries into a comedy that he got up in Paris."
From Napoleon's Young Neighbor by Reed, Helen Leah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
