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monodrama

American  
[mon-uh-drah-muh, -dram-uh] / ˈmɒn əˌdrɑ mə, -ˌdræm ə /

noun

  1. a dramatic piece for only one performer.


monodrama British  
/ ˈmɒnəʊˌdrɑːmə /

noun

  1. a play or other dramatic piece for a single performer

"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

Other Word Forms

  • monodramatic adjective
  • monodramatist noun

Etymology

Origin of monodrama

First recorded in 1785–95; mono- + drama

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.

Sellars had long proposed the curious combining of Schoenberg’s “Erwartung,” a violently expressionist monodrama for soprano and large orchestra, with the last movement, “Abschied,” of Mahler’s song-symphony “Das Lied von der Erde.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025

The newly commissioned work that followed was Kate Soper’s “Orpheus Orchestra Opus Onus,” a sensationally witty and profound monodrama about the meaning of music for amplified soprano and large orchestra.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2025

The one-act monodrama by composer Tom Cipullo is based on the life of the legendary singer and dancer Josephine Baker.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2022

Plenty of Schoenberg’s scores received hearings; difficulties rehearsing the monodrama “Erwartung” led Mitropoulos to ask Katsoyanis whether his compulsion for “distorted and screwy beauty” was just an “egotistical occupation” with “the pleasure of self-destruction.”

From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2022

The form of a monodrama was unfamiliar to the public and has difficulties of its own.

From Victorian Worthies Sixteen Biographies by Blore, George Henry